Trades down as Ramadan starts

The first day of Ramadan resulted in subdued trading yesterday as volume on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) fell 75 per cent below the daily average this year. Only 43.9 million shares changed hands on the DFM, almost half the trade volume recorded on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange. The main measure in Dubai declined 0.9 per cent to 1,482.58, pulled down by losses in banking and financial stocks.

Emaar Properties was the most actively traded stock but it dropped 2.1 per cent to Dh3.14. Drake & Scull closed 1.2 per cent lower at 82 fils. Shares of the bourse, traded as DFM Company, dropped 0.6 per cent to Dh1.44 while Arabtec Holding also shed 0.6 per cent to close at Dh1.67. The local markets mirrored the performance of international markets. "The low liquidity and the spreads on the scrips made it impossible for investors to sell, which caused the heavyweights to close at the day's low," Shuaa Security said in a note to clients.

In the capital, the main measure declined 0.5 per cent to 2,495.66. All property stocks retreated, with Aldar Properties declining 1.3 per cent to Dh2.12, Sorouh Real Estate falling 2.4 per cent to Dh1.16 and RAK Properties closing 2.5 per cent lower at 38 fils. Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, or Taqa, retreated 2.4 per cent to Dh1.61. Elsewhere in the region, all markets except Bahrain posted marginal losses. The Saudi bourse declined the most, closing 1.2 per cent lower, while Kuwait, Qatar and Muscat shares each declined 0.3 per cent. Bahrain gained less than a 10th of 1 per cent.