Volatility remains on Dubai Financial Market as political and economic uncertainty weighs heavily

Dubai bourse falls 1.7 per cent after rising during early trading.

Traders do business on the Dubai Financial Market at Dubai World Trade Centre in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

Dubai endured another volatile session yesterday as investors cut positions in equities amid political and economic uncertainty.

The Dubai Financial Market General Index rose as much as 1.5 per cent to 4,644.37 points during the first half of the trading session, but at the close the benchmark had lost 1.7 per cent to 4,492.75.

“Momentum has been broken,” said Sebastien Henin, the head of asset management at The National Investor, an Abu Dhabi-based investment bank.

Dubai’s equity index tumbled earlier this week, taking cues from Saudi Arabia after oil prices dropped and weak economic data from the euro zone, coupled with continuing air strikes led by the West against ISIL insurgents in Syria.

“When you take individually each of these factors they are major, but they are also all coming at the same time and weighing on the market,” Mr Henin said.

Despite the recent losses, the DFM Index is up 33.3 per cent so far this year.

“Investors will take the opportunity to book some profits as the markets have performed well in the past year and valuations are pretty high, so it’s very rational for them to take money from the table,” Mr Henin said.

Emaar Properties lost 1.4 per cent to close at Dh10.20 a share. Arabtec Holding, Dubai’s biggest contracting firm, fell 1.2 per cent to Dh3.92. Dubai Financial Market, the listed shares of the bourse, dropped 2.4 per cent to Dh2.78.

Follow The National's Business section on Twitter