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Short-term Traders Drag UAE Shares Lower

DUBAI — Short-term traders dragged UAE shares lower on Thursday as investors closed positions ahead of the weekend and shrugged off government’s plans to help distressed property and debt-ridden companies.

Abu Dhabi-based Arkan Building Materials Co. lost 9.91 per cent to Dh3.82. The country’s biggest construction company Arabtec Holding, dropped 3.101 per cent to Dh1.61.

The Dubai Financial Market benchmark index shed 0.75 per cent to 1,504.38, losing nearly 1 per cent from the previous week.

“If Dubai has been dancing to its own tune recently, then one of the strings broke as retail investors looked to cash in positions. Stale rumours and a lack of news flow are also forcing a re-evaluation of positions,” said Matthew Wakeman, managing director of cash-and-equity-linked trading 
at EFG-Hermes.

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange main index fell for a fourth session, ending 1.31 per cent lower at 2,318.72, weighed down by property and construction-related stocks. The index was off 4.1 per cent from last week.

Investors were lukewarm to assurances by the Department of Finance director-general Nasser bin Hassan Al Shaikh that the Dubai government would aid property companies badly hit by the downturn in the sector. The five-year property boom came to an abrupt close after prices nosedived from their peaks last September.

The Middle East’s biggest property developer and prime index mover Emaar Properties closed flat at Dh2.02. The company put off its shareholders’ meeting scheduled for March 24 and gave no reason for the postponement. The company is under pressure from disgruntled buyers and investors who are pressing the developer to cancel some of its projects.

Union Properties lost 2.98 per cent to Dh0.65. Deyaar Development fell 2.12 per cent to Dh0.49. Its chief executive officer Markus Giebel said on Wednesday the company is not in merger talks with any firm. He also said Deyaar could reduce prices of projects already sold to prevent customers from defaulting on payments.

“Any meaningful buying into Dubai real-estate names is still pretty much sitting on the fence. Investors are still trying to better understand the overall trend in house prices and the quality of banks’ loan books - housing in particular,” said Ali Khan, managing director of Arqaam Capital Limited.

Nasser bin Hassan Al Shaikh also said funds from the $10 billion bond recently issued by Dubai would go into providing relief to companies burdened by debt problems.

“Stimulus measures for ‘small medium enterprises’ in the next few weeks are good fundamentally for the economy, but aren’t going to support share prices of large cap listed firms. I still think the market is in a sideways channel as it looks look to form a bottom,” EFG-Hermes’ Wakeman.

Decliners in Abu Dhabi were paced by Arkan Building Materials Co. whose shares continued to slide, dropping 9.91 per cent to Dh3.82.

The country’s stock markets regulator, the Emirates Securities & Commodities Authority last month suspended four investors from buying stocks in the United Arab Emirates after an investigation into alleged trading violations in shares of Arkan.

rocel@khaleejtimes.com