UAE stock markets plunge for fourth straight day

Dubai/Abu Dhabi: Share prices in the UAE plunged for the fourth straight day, as recent negative sentiment showed no sign of slowing.

The Dubai Financial Market shed 4.97 per cent to leave it on 1,609 points while the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange dropped by 3.47 per cent to end the day on 2,326 points.

Property heavyweight Emaar led the slide on the day it was announced that its share buyback plan had been cancelled while etisalat also registered heavy falls.

Emaar's share price fell by 6.64 per cent to just Dh2.25 on the day, continuing a miserable year of trading which has seen its price fall by around 85 per cent in the last 12 months.

Arabtec, which has endured a similar fall over the past year, fell by more than almost nine per cent to leave shares trading at Dh3.47 at the close.

The telecoms sector was hard hit on the Abu Dhabi exchange, with etisalat losing 7.91 per cent but Sharjah Islamic Bank was the biggest loser (9.71 per cent fall to Dh0.93).