UAE shares ride out further oil price decline

UAE shares shrugged off Friday's fall in oil prices following the Opec meeting.

Saudi Arabia’s minister of oil and mineral resources Ali Al-Naimi (lower right) is surrounded by journalists as he attend the 168th Ordinary meeting of Opec at its headquarters in Vienna, on December Show more

UAE shares shrugged off Friday’s fall in oil prices, ending only marginally lower on their first day of trading after the National Day celebrations.

Brent crude futures closed nearly 2 per cent lower at US$43 per barrel on Friday, after Opec members failed to agree new production quotas in the face of rising global inventories.

Such bearish signals did not, however, result in a widespread sell-off of shares across the Arabian Gulf region.

Shares in Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, closed practically unchanged

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index ended 0.8 per cent lower at 4,198.87, dragged lower by profit-taking in Etisalat.

The telco’s stock, the second heaviest weighted share in Abu Dhabi, ended its first day of inclusion in MSCI’s Emerging Markets Index 4.8 per cent lower at Dh15.70, after rising 10 per cent on its previous trading day.

Shares in energy stocks meanwhile performed brightly; shares in Dana Gas were unchanged at 48 fils, while Taqa rose 2.2 per cent to 46 fils.

The Dubai Financial Market General Index closed down 0.9 per cent at 3,174.34, with Dubai Islamic Bank and Emaar Malls among the main losers.

Shares in DIB closed off 4.5 per cent at Dh6.11, their sharpest one-day fall since late August.

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