Dubai Financial Market’s eight-day rally halted

Dubai-listed Marka says it is selling unprofitable businesses and restructuring its debt. Antonie Robertson / The National

Shares on the Dubai Financial Market fell on Wednesday, snapping an eight-day rally.

The DFM index closed down 0.4 per cent. Deyaar fell 2 per cent to 71 fils, with 30 million shares traded, while Damac fell by 1.5 per cent to Dh2.55.

The DFM had gained 9.9 per cent since the beginning of the previous week.

Some of the gainers in Dubai included Marka, which added 5.6 per cent to Dh1.33, while Shuaa Capital rose 4.2 per cent to 74 fils.

Gulf Finance House, which had jumped 8.6 per cent on Tuesday in its heaviest trade since January 2014, following a 15 per cent leap on Monday, was again a very active stock and fell 2.8 per cent.

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange gained a modest 0.3 per cent.

The major gainers were Bank of Sharjah, which jumped 3.4 per cent, while Union National Bank rose 2.4 per cent.

Abu Dhabi National Energy Company lost 5.2 per cent, while RAK Properties fell 4.2 per cent. Eshraq Properties shed 2.6 per cent, while RAK Cement dropped 2.3 per cent.

Brent fell to US$58.24, down $0.86 from the previous day’s close. Oil has hovered around $58 per barrel since the beginning of January.

The Saudi stock index climbed about 0.6 per cent to 8,851.83 points in increasing turnover. It rose further from chart support at the March low of 8,497, which was tested and held on Sunday, and may now be at least a short-term bottom for the market.

Real estate stocks, which began recovering this week from a sell-off caused by a plan to tax undeveloped land, lost steam. Dar Al Arkan, the most heavily traded stock, fell 0.8 per cent.

* with Reuters