Big hitting UAE stocks fall amid cautious trading

Markets Update: Traders start the last day of a tumultuous week for the region in cautious fashion.

Shares in Abu Dhabi and Dubai decline at the open, with limited trading as investors remain cautious ahead of the weekend.

In Abu Dhabi, traded value reached Dh13.9 million traded on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange at 10am.

Aldar Properties declined 3.7 per cent to Dh1.54. RAK Ceramics declined 2.9 per cent to 65 fils. Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank lost 1.9 per cent to Dh3.00 a share.

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index lost 0.1 per cent to 2604.66.

In Dubai, traded value reached Dh12.3 million traded on the Dubai Financial Market.

Arabtec, Dubai's biggest contractor, declined 2.7 per cent to Dh1.44. Du declined 1.3 per cent to Dh3.01. Tabreed lost 4 per cent to Dh1.18 a share.

Oil prices continued to soar. Nymex crude futures for April gained 1 per cent to $99.08 a barrel, earlier the commodity reached $100. Brent futures traded on the London based ICE Futures exchange was up 2.1 per cent to 113.63.

Elsewhere in the region, Kuwait's measure remained flat at 6467.80. Bahrain's index added 0.3 per cent to 1472.77. Oman's measure rose 0.5 per cent to 6692.68. Qatar's index lost 0.1 per cent to 8176.74.

The Saudi Tadawul All-Share Index was closed for the day. The bourse will be closed on Feb 26, to mark the arrival of King Abdullah from Morocco, according to a statement on the exchange's website.