Dubai stocks remain bearish in thin trade

28/03/2016 05:50 AST

Dubai stocks extended the longest losing streak in more than two months as oil languished near $40 a barrel and the Easter weekend holiday in Europe sapped volumes. Saudi Arabian shares also declined.

The DFM General Index lost 1.2 per cent to 3,279.16 at the close, the lowest level in more than three weeks as about Dh287 million ($78 million) of shares traded, less than half the daily average over the past year. Emaar Properties was the biggest contributor to the declines with a 2.2 per cent drop.

The Bloomberg GCC 200 Index, which tracks the biggest companies in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, slid 0.9 per cent as of 1:55pm in Riyadh.

"Once again, a major public holiday in Europe and the US has depleted GCC volumes, so today is irrelevant to an extent," said Akber Khan, who manages $850 million as senior director of asset management at Al Rayan Investment in Doha.

Saudi Arabia's Tadawul All Share Index fell 1.2 per cent. Abu Dhabi's ADX General Index lost 0.8 per cent. Qatar's QE Index and Kuwait's SE Price Index declined 0.6 per cent and 0.5 per cent, respectively. The Bahrain Bourse All Share Index slid 0.1 per cent, while Oman's MSM30 Index rose 0.1 per cent. "There are worries of some technical exhaustion given the strong market rally in recent weeks, and softer oil last week isn't helping either," Khan said.

With about half of the GCC's population made up of expatriates, many of whom celebrate Christian holidays, and most school terms ending around the third week of March, trading volumes typically drop on Easter Sunday. That has compounded pressure on regional stocks as some traders seek to lock in profits following a recent surge in prices. Gulf countries, home to about 30 per cent of the world's crude, rely on income from energy to fund spending. Brent crude posted its first weekly decline in five on Friday.

Egypt's EGX 30 Index lost 0.3 per cent. North Africa's biggest economy has attracted $500 million of portfolio investments since weakening its currency this month.

Khaleej Times