Dubai stocks edged lower on Sunday as declining oil prices stoked worries among fund managers that foreign investors might look to sell local shares.
Brent’s future contract for January settlement touched US$79.41 on Friday after closing at $77.49 on Thursday.
Stocks could experience profit-taking when foreign investors operating in international markets begin the work week on Monday, said Sebastien Henin, head of asset management at The National Investor, an Abu Dhabi-based boutique investment bank.
“We’ve seen oil prices only go in one way, which is down. There has been no respite,” Mr Henin said. “I won’t be surprised if we see international players taking money back from the table, even if they like the economic story. I am not optimistic.”
Emaar Properties, the developer behind Burj Khalifa, lost 1.8 per cent to close at Dh10.80 a share. Arabtec slumped 5.8 per cent to Dh4.02 a share after profits at Dubai’s biggest contracting company fell on higher expenses.
Traded value on the two stocks accounted for more than half of trading in the overall market. Arabtec and Emaar traded about Dh567.3 million, whereas the market traded about Dh1.06 billion.
The Dubai Financial Market General Index slipped 1.1 per cent to 4,602.86 points.
The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index was up 0.2 per cent to 4,963.21 on low volumes.
Shares in Qatar climbed for a second day after soccer’s governing body Fifa ruled out any significant irregularities in the nation’s bid to stage the 2022 World Cup, Bloomberg News reported.
While Fifa’s ethics committee found some irregularities, the violations weren’t enough to reopen the process, according to a summary report. Qatar plans to spend $200 billion building stadiums, roads, railroads and even a new city before it hosts the tournament.
Fifa’s announcement “indicates that all that money announced and committed to build stadiums and infrastructure to host the event will now be spent,” Tariq Qaqish, the head of asset management at Dubai-based Al Mal Capital, said by email. “Investors will be more confident about their medium- to long-term investments in Qatari stocks.”
halsayegh@thenational.ae
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