Falling oil prices continued to pressure stocks for a second consecutive day yesterday amid signs that larger investors have temporarily pulled back, seeking better returns elsewhere.
The Dubai Financial Market General Index closed down 2.6 per cent at 3,519.55, adding to the 2.54 per cent drop on Sunday.
It was the first time the index has closed below 3,600 since January 6. The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index closed down 1.35 per cent at 4,635.22.
Oil prices continued their downwards trend yesterday as international inventories built up. Brent crude fell by $1.34 to $53.34 a barrel in early trading before recovering to about the $54 mark by midafternoon UAE time.
Concerns over oil prices had been exacerbated by a drying up of liquidity on both stock exchanges in recent weeks, with retail investors left to dictate the direction of the market, according to Khaldoun Jaradat, a trading manager at Brokerage House Securities.
“With most stocks there’s no real fundamental reason to sell, but the market’s going down, which just prompts other retail investors to sell as well, which in turn drives the market even lower,” he said.
A second trader who asked not to be named said that several larger investors had pulled back from UAE markets in recent weeks over concerns about the impact of oil prices.
“Liquidity is very poor right now. A lot of big investors have been shifting their money to other markets such as Egypt, chasing a better return,” he said.
The same trader predicted that stocks would continue to fall today, but they would rise again before the end of the week.
“Clearly there’s a correction going on, and we’re likely to see further 1 to 2 per cent falls on Tuesday. But our expectation is that it will be done by the end of this week, with an uptrend next week. There’s still a number of shares we’re waiting for dividend announcements for.”
Emaar Properties was among the worst-affected stocks in Dubai after it clarified that it was not involved in recently announced plans for a new capital city in Egypt.
The developer’s shares fell 4.76 per cent to Dh6.61.
Drake and Scull International and Damac Properties were among the other decliners, falling 5.5 per cent and 3.83 per cent respectively.
Aldar Properties was the main lagger in Abu Dhabi, ending down 5.15 per cent at Dh2.21.
jeverington@thenational.ae
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
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Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
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Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
