Dubai and Abu Dhabi markets hit lowest levels this month

An investor with a newspaper looks at stock market data displayed on an electronic board at a securities brokerage house in Beijing, China. EPA

A rally in Chinese equities was unable to prevent a sell-off in the Arabian Gulf, with markets ending in negative territory.

The Shanghai Composite closed up 1.5 per cent, following a 3 per cent slide on Wednesday. The benchmark Kospi in Seoul ended lower on disappointing earnings data from Samsung Engineering, with the shares closing down 19 per cent at 25,900 won. The stock has fallen 32 per cent this year.

The Chinese bounce did little to reassure UAE investors, with bourses in Abu Dhabi and Dubai both closing down 1 per cent and hitting their lowest levels this month.

“Markets are lacking in momentum, with everyone fairly reluctant to trust signs of potential upside,” said Julian Bruce, the head of institutional trading at EFG-Hermes in Dubai.

“The rally in China seems lacking in conviction, so the natural reaction from investors is to trim their positions further, which was what we saw today.”

The Dubai Financial Market General Index closed down 1 per cent at 3,588.49.

Shares in DFM and Dubai Investments were among the hardest hit, closing down 3 and 2.9 per cent, respectively.

The index heavyweight Emaar Properties lost 0.9 per cent at Dh6.6.

Property stocks bore the brunt of a sell-off on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index, which closed 1 per cent lower at 4,485.40.

Aldar Properties closed down 3.2 per cent at Dh2.35, the lowest in more than five weeks, while Eshraq Properties finished down 1.4 per cent at 67 fils.

Saudi Arabia once again led losses across the region, with the Tadawul All Share Index closing down TKT per cent at tTKT.

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