Dubai

The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) index closed higher on Thursday after dropping during every session this week amid concerns about emerging markets and a fresh round of trade tariffs announced by the US.

The DFM index rose 0.86 per cent to close at 2,764.38 as trade values improved slightly to Dh280 million and blue chip stocks such as Emaar and Dubai Islamic Bank gained. The index’s close is still below its key support level of 2,800, signalling potential for further downside.

“We had a good move today in most of the market, concentrated still on the main blue chips; the banking sector and real estate, which are driving the market,” said Marwan Shurrab, head of high net worth and retail equities brokerage at Al Ramz Capital.

“Nevertheless, what we saw over the week was a bit worrying because we’ve been seeing aggressive selling pressure since the beginning of the week that broke below the support level of 2,800, and that gave some negative sentiment across the board.”

The DFM index is now down nearly 18 per cent year-to-date, and the recent selling pressure across emerging market currencies and stocks hasn’t helped Dubai’s bourse.

Shurrab said that trade tensions, especially between the US and China, are now priced in “to a certain extent” in emerging market stocks, which have been on the decline since January.

Other analysts seemed to agree with that view.

Hussein Sayed, chief market strategist at FXTM, said in a note on Thursday that equity markets do not seem to be concerned over the latest phase of trade disputes between the US and China, with investors seeming to have priced in the negative news for months now. Earlier this week, the US announced it will impose a 10 per cent tariff on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports.

Back in the UAE, Emaar rose 1.05 per cent as DIB gained 1.54 and Arabtec jumped 7.95 per cent. Salama also rose 4.03 per cent.

Meanwhile, the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) general index closed flat at 4,883.42, down 0.01 per cent. Trade in the UAE capital also concentrated on blue chip stocks including First Abu Dhabi Bank, Etisalat, and Aldar Properties.