UAE shares end lower on low trading volumes

The National staff

Dubai and Abu Dhabi stocks slipped on Sunday on a dull day for the region’s indexes.

Broadly, benchmarks barely budged. The only change of more than 1 per cent was the Saudi Tadawul’s decline of 1.1 per cent.

Dubai's DFM General Index lost 0.7 per cent. Abu Dhabi's ADX General Index shed 0.4 per cent.

Volumes were low.

“After last week’s excitement fuelled by foreign inflows, with a few exceptions, things are dull today,” said Akber Khan, the senior director of asset management at Al Rayan Investment in Doha. “It’s a Sunday in the midst of summer with few results in the region.”

The stock gauges in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Kuwait had posted a third week of gains in the five days through Thursday as prospects for stimulus in major economies boosted demand for riskier emerging-market assets. Investors have since moderated their expectations after the Bank of Japan ruled out directly financing government debt and the European Central Bank held back monetary expansion.

Sunday’s soft performance in the GCC markets also followed a drop in the price of oil, with Brent crude falling 4 per cent last week to US$45.69 per barrel. The GCC is home to about a third of the world’s proven oil reserves.

Qatar’s QE Index gained 0.4 per cent, its first rise in three sessions. Kuwait’s SE Price Index, Bahrain’s BB All Share Index and the Muscat benchmark all rose less than 0.1 per cent.

* with agencies

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