By: Mahmoud Gamal
Dubai – Mubasher: The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) closed Sunday with a slight drop, breaking two straight gains, pressured by the re-emergence of sell-offs ahead of the announcement of earnings reports.
The DFM’s general index edged down 3.98 points, or 0.16%, to finish the first session of the week at 2,512.83 points.
Turnover on the DFM amounted to AED 76.27 million, touching an all-time low since mid-November 2018, after 63.9 million shares changed hands through 1,036 transactions.
Four Factors
The managing director of asset management at MENACORP ascribed the DFM’s thin liquidity to four factors, namely fragile investor confidence, the lack of market-boosting catalysts, weak institutional investment, coupled with intense stock speculation deals by individuals.
The bourse’s liquidity has significantly dropped on the back of tepid investor appetite for making new trades, awaiting the appearance of fresh incentives, topped by further financial result announcements, Tariq Qaqish told Mubasher.
He stressed that earnings statements and the payment of dividends would be major factors for pushing investors towards local equities, which hit attractive pricing levels, particularly for institutional investors.
Top decliners
The consumer staples sector headed losers with 1.37% after DXB Entertainments dropped 1.6% to close at AED 0.249.
The transportation sector levelled down 0.98%, dragged by the stocks of Air Arabia and Gulf Navigation Holding, which dipped 1.94% to AED 1.01 and 0.71% to AED 0.834, respectively.
The investment sector also was among fallers with 0.81% as DFM Company tumbled 11.08% and Dubai Investments edged down 0.8%.
The telecommunication sector and its sole stock, du, went down 0.2%, while the banks sector lost 0.06% as Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) shed 0.6%.
On the other hand, Arabtec Holding topped risers after adding 3.43% to finish at AED 2.11, while Emaar Malls, Emaar Properties and the heavyweight Emirates NBD jumped 0.6%, 0.5% and 0.43, respectively.
Translated by: Ahmed Shehata
