Emaar sell-off after news from Saudi and India

Dubai shares ended the week on a down note yesterday as investors sold off shares of Emaar Properties, one of the UAE's largest publicly listed companies.

Shares of the Burj Khalifa developer fell 1 per cent to Dh3.85 yesterday after its Saudi unit, Emaar Economic City, posted a third-quarter loss of 195.6 million riyals, and it was announced Emaar faces a possible financial penalty related to its Indian joint venture's work on the Commonwealth Games Village in Delhi.

Dubai credit default swaps (CDS), or the cost of insurance against the default of sovereign debt, have risen by 11 per cent in the past three days, now trading at 435 basis points from 390 basis points earlier in the week. Analysts use the CDS as a measure of risk on equities but analysts said there was no clear reason for the trend.

"Things are not great for the markets, especially with this negative news flow on Emaar, and credit default swaps are rising again," said Saad al Chalabi, an institutional trader at AlRamz Securities.

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index added 0.7 per cent to 2,807.50. Gains were led by Aldar Properties, which added 2.4 per cent to Dh2.52.

Elsewhere in the region: Kuwait's measure dropped 0.7 per cent to 6,944.50; Bahrain's index was unchanged at 1,465.39; Qatar's index was flat at 7,728; and Oman's bourse gained 0.1 per cent to 6,542.17. The Saudi Tadawul was closed for the day.