By: Mahmoud Gamal

Dubai – Mubasher: The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) dropped on Thursday due to a decline in leading stocks, especially Arabtec Holding and Drake and Scull International (DSI).

The DFMGI fell 1.23% or 42.17 points reaching 3,378.02 points, shrugging off last week’s gains.

Market performance was weak which led to a fall in the indices and prices, as some companies announced lower-than-expected results, said Jamal Ajaj, director of Al Sharhan Shares Centre in Abu Dhabi.

The investment and financial services sector lost 2.26% as DFM Company went down 3.45%, while the transportation sector decreased 2.4% after Air Arabia tumbled 2.91%.

The real estate sector levelled down 0.32% as DSI and Arabtec retreated 6.81% and 7.14%, respectively this week.

The uncertainty regarding the fate of ailing companies like Arabtec, which recently launched its right issue, and DSI’s “shocking results”, contributed to discouraging investors from taking risks while trading in local stocks, Ajaj added.

Liquidity dropped to AED 1.43 billion in the week ended Thursday, 18 May, from AED 1.58 billion last week, while traded volume declined to 1.17 billion shares from 1.28 billion shares.

Turnover decreased as investors were not actively trading this week amid the absence of positive catalysts, the analyst said, noting that some weak stocks pressured other shares on the DFM.

Translated by: Mohamed Hesham Azab