UAE bourses drop further ahead of Opec meeting

DFM index falls 2.51% as ADX general index slides 0.85%

27/11/2014 05:35 AST

The UAE’s bourse continued to drop on Wednesday, one day ahead of the Opec (Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) meeting in Vienna where world leaders are set to discuss tumbling oil prices, and production rates.

The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) index shed 2.51 per cent to reach 4,443.34, while the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) index slid 0.85 per cent to reach 4,820.26.

In Dubai, Emaar plunged 5.29 per cent to reach Dh10.75, after showing relative stability during the decline in the market over the past few sessions. The real estate developer continued to top the market in terms of value, accounting for 46 per cent of total market value.

Meanwhile, Arabtec fell 2.6 per cent, Union Properties slid 2.61 per cent, Dubai Islamic Bank declined 1.57 per cent, and DFM share prices went down 5.19 per cent. However, Dubai Ports World registered a slight increase of 0.71 per cent.

Sebastien Henin, head of asset management at The National Investor, attributed the drop in the market to the global sentiment, which has not been positive lately due to oil prices that went down around 30 per cent.

“Oil prices are the most important aspect these days, and prices remain below $80 per barrel, so investors are waiting on the outcomes of the critical Opec meeting. We had a statement from the Saudi oil minister that Saudi will not modify oil production, and this was not supportive for the [stock] market,” he said.
Discussing Emaar’s performance in particular, Henin said investors are currently booking profits, having bought shares in the company when it announced its dividends. He expected next week’s market performance to depend on the outcomes of the Opec summit.
“Despite the pressure that we have right now in the market, the momentum is still very good. We have seen a lot of appetite for the IPO of Dubai Park, and I guess it should continue. In the medium-term, we are still very positive about the market,” Henin said.
In Abu Dhabi, Dana Gas topped the gainers’ list with a 1.67 per cent increase, followed by the National Bank of Abu Dhabi with 1.54 per cent, and Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) with 1.11 per cent.
Of the 30 stocks traded on DFM, 23 went down, four went up, and three remained unchanged. Of the 30 stocks traded on ADX, 19 declined, five advanced, and six remained flat.

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