Dubai Financial Market hits yearly low as oil trades at $42

During the second quarter, Saudi Arabia continued to be the main driver of IPO market activity in the GCC Jasper Juinen / Bloomberg

Shares in Dubai bore the brunt of a sell-off in the region, hitting new lows for the year.

Oil meanwhile continued to tread lower after the Opec meeting on Friday ended with no new agreement on production. Brent crude futures were trading about 31 cents per barrel lower on Monday at US$42.69.

The Dubai Financial Market General Index shed 2.2 per cent, its worst fall in more than three weeks, closing at 3,104.17.

“It looks like foreign sell-offs on their first day since last week’s Opec meeting,” said Muhammad Shabbir, the head of equities at Rasmala Investment Bank in Dubai.

“There’s a general softness in regional markets at the moment, and foreign investors are taking any opportunity then can to sell down.”

Emaar Properties, the heaviest weighted stock on the index, fell 4.6 per cent to a three-year low of Dh5.57.

Dubai Islamic Bank and Drake & Scull International were among the other stocks worst hit, falling 3.4 and 3 per cent respectively.

Headline indexes in Qatar and Kuwait fell 0.7 and 0.4 per cent respectively.

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index was the only Arabian Gulf in to end the day in the black, closing up 0.2 per cent at 4,209.69.

The index was largely swayed by Etisalat, which rose 1.9 per cent to Dh16, after falling 4.8 per cent on Sunday.

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