Sliding oil weighs on UAE bourses

The fact that oil prices have not been able to rebound is not at all supporting the market, said Sebastien Henin, the head of asset management at The National Investor.

UAE markets fell on Sunday as they were weighed down by a drop in crude oil prices and dismal earnings from property companies.

Brent fell about 0.4 per cent on Friday to US$49.03 a barrel. The benchmark crude is down 57 per cent since peaking at $115 a barrel in June last year owning to an supply glut of oil, weak demand from Asia and a strong dollar.

“The fact that oil prices have not been able to rebound is not at all supporting the market,” said Sebastien Henin, the head of asset management at the investment company The National Investor.

The Dubai Financial Market General Index fell 1.3 per cent to 3,930.45.

The builder Arabtec fell 5.3 per cent to Dh2.11 after reporting a third consecutive quarter of losses. Emaar Properties lost 1.3 per cent to Dh7.39, while the mortgage lender Amlak shed 1.8 per cent to Dh2.13.

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index slid 1.2 per cent to 4,670.89. Dana Gas, was the most active by volume, retreating 5.1 per cent to Dh0.55. Dana Gas reported last Thursday an 85 per cent plunge in second quarter net profit amid the slump in oil prices and lower production. Eshraq Properties fell 2.6 per cent to Dh0.73 after posting a 97 per cent fall in second quarter net profit.

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