Dubai: UAE stocks on Monday mirrored a souring sentiment seen in global markets and oil, while also witnessing a sell-off in key banking stocks after a disappointing set of results.
The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) index dropped 1.16 per cent or 32 points to 2,788.8 points, while the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) fell 1.2 per cent to 5,167.24.
In Dubai, Emirates NBD fell 1.09 per cent after the top lender reported a 15 per cent drop in fourth-quarter earnings on Monday, coming in below analysts’ forecasts, on a jump in impairment charges.
Among other lending heavyweights, Dubai Islamic Bank shed 1.73 per cent. Real estate giant Emaar Properties 1 per cent as well. In Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank dropped 1.5 per cent on weak fourth-quarter earnings and a lower annual dividend. First Abu Dhabi Bank, the country’s largest lender, also retreated over 1 per cent ahead of its board meeting to approve financials.
Regional markets
In addition to the selling pressure seen after the first batch of banking results in the UAE, performance in the regional markets were in line with the sentiments in global equities as investors are concerned about the virus outbreak in China and its impact on global economies, said Eyad Abu Hweij, managing director at Allied Investment Partners.
The decline in oil prices is also weighing on regional sentiment, analysts added, with oil prices were seen slumping over 3 per cent at one point during the session on Monday.
Other major gulf indexes fell as well. Qatar’s index dropped 0.9 per cent, weighed down by a 0.4 per cent fall in Qatar National Bank, while Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index fell 1.4 per cent with oil producer Saudi Aramco losing 0.4 per cent.
