Nasdaq Dubai feels the weight of DP World

Markets Update: Local markets go nowhere as volumes dwindle, amid poor jobs data from the US released last week.

The UAE's markets appeared barely roused after the weekend, with meagre gains and thin volumes on both markets.

Markets were pulled in both directions as gains for Arabtec, Sorouh and du were balanced by losses at Emaar Properties, Dana Gas and Deyaar Developments.

Both markets were almost flat in the opening hours of trading, after rises which nudged the Emirates' indexes into positive territory before being snuffed out. The Dubai Financial Market General Index and its Abu Dhabi counterpart were both flat at 1,564.63 and 2,672.48 respectively.

Only Nasdaq Dubai saw a glimpse of movement, falling 0.43 per cent to 1,717.04, dragged downwards by its largest stock, DP World, which declined 0.76 per cent to $13.10. The ports operator has lost 47 cents since its listing on the London Stock Exchange on June 1.

Traders found themselves in a downbeat mood this weekend as US non-farm payrolls data revealed that the world's largest economy added just 54,000 jobs in May, raising fears that growth has stalled. Economists polled by Bloomberg had expected an increase of 165,000.

The dismal jobs growth caused a sell-off in Saudi Arabian stocks yesterday, falling 1.73 per cent to 6,624.95 at the close on Saturday.

Asian markets fell overnight, with Japan's Nikkei 225 decreasing 0.66 per cent to 9,492.21, and the Hang Seng index down 1.31 per cent at 22,949.56.