Nakheel fails to rouse investors

The two major UAE bourses dropped despite the Dubai developer's announcement that it had struck deals with 75 per cent of its trade creditors

A major announcement from Nakheel regarding its repayment schedule with creditors would have been greeted with euphoria by investors several months ago. Yesterday it was met mostly with yawns. The two major UAE bourses dropped yesterday, tracking global declines despite the Dubai developer's announcement that it had struck deals with 75 per cent of its trade creditors. Analysts said most large investors were staying on the sidelines until the bigger economic picture became clearer.

"I think the Nakheel news is more or less discounted," said Hatem Alatabani, the managing director at Makaseb Islamic Financial Services in Abu Dhabi. "The level of market activity we're seeing now is dominated by small-sized retail speculators who don't pay much attention to announcements or fundamentals." The Dubai Financial Market General Index fell 1 per cent to 1,466.74. Emirates NBD, Dubai's biggest bank by assets, dropped 2.8 per cent to Dh2.43, and Dubai Islamic Bank fell 1 per cent to Dh1.95. Arabtec Holding lost 2.8 per cent to Dh1.72 a share.

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index fell 0.6 per cent to 2,515.05. Aabar Investments dropped 2.8 per cent to Dh1.37. The stock has fallen 13 per cent since Sunday, when the company confirmed plans to seek delisting of its shares. All other regional markets also declined: Kuwait dropped 0.6 per cent to 6,543.20; Qatar 0.9 per cent to 6,899.81; Bahrain 0.3 per cent to 1,396.29; and Muscat 0.2 per cent to 6,058.11.

The Saudi Tadawul All-Share Index fell 0.4 per cent to 6,127.43. [e-mail]