UAE market news & discussions for 23 December 2008 There are rumours of a killer perfume available on the streets of Dubai, perhaps it's being sprayed on UAE stocks? Gulf News reported that Dubai Police have denied the lethal perfume stories so that leaves little to explain another grim day as the markets plummet again, although for Dubai the size of the fall was slightly lower. The DFM index dropped 2.2% to 1694 points with turnover of AED 207m from 145m shares. The ADX index fared worse with a greater fall of 3.7% to 2410 points with turnover of AED 191m from 66m shares. Oddly, DFM's own shares stood out with a gain while everything else tumbled, and in Abu Dhabi, Arkan Building Materials once again saw heavy trading and a big rise. Despite giving themselves a pat on the back with some service awards, Union National Bank saw limit down trading today. First Gulf Bank said nothing when asked about reported job cuts but other Abu Dhabi banks and property developers said they were not cutting jobs, according to a report in The National this morning. Most Abu Dhabi bank stocks plummeted today with several smaller banks trading at limit down prices. DP World is down 6.1% to $0.31 on the Nasdaq Dubai as of 14:30 UAE time. Asian stocks fell, European stocks rose, and US stock futures are mixed but possibly indicating a lower open on Wall St later today. Dubai Financial MarketEmaar Properties (EMAAR) fell 3.6% to 2.41 and was at the top of the traded value list with just over AED 50m worth of deals. Arabtec (ARTC) had another big drop, trading 10% limit down at 3.81 with no buyers in the queue, but despite that still managed to get the number two spot on the turnover table. Emarat Takaful Insurance (TAKAFUL-EM) was also limit down but turnover was less than AED 1m. The next worst loser was Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) with "only" a 5.7% fall to 1.82, followed by Shuaa Capital (SHUAA) with a 4.9% drop, and Air Arabia (AIRARABIA) and Gulf Navigation (GULFNAV) both falling 4.3%. The remaining losers fell less than 4%. There were only 4 gainers, Dar Takaful Insurance (DARTAKAFUL) at the top of the list with a 12.6% leap to 1.16 from thin trading. Gulf General Investment (GGICO) and Al Salam Bank (SALAM_BAH) both rose about 4% and both on greater than usual volumes, Dubai Financial Market (DFM) was up 3.5% to 1.17. Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange In Abu Dhabi, Arkan Building Materials (ARKAN) dominated trading with over AED 50m worth of deals and a 2.7% rise to 5.86, the only gainer of any real significance, although Abu Dhabi National Energy (TAQA) had a small 1% rise on modest trading, and Sudan Telecom (SUDATEL) was up fractionally by 0.4%, while the top three gainers rose on total trading between them of less than AED 0.5m. Aldar Properties (ALDAR) down 6.4%, Sorouh Real Estate (SOROUH) down 4.2%, First Gulf Bank (FGB) down 6.1%, and Emirates Telecom (ETISALAT) down 4.9%, followed Arkan in the turnover list. Six stocks saw 10% limit down trading, all of them banks, including Invest Bank (INVESTB), Sharjah Islamic Bank (NBS), Union National Bank (UNB), and Commercial Bank International (CBI). Abu Dhabi Aviation (ADAVIATION) was busier than usual and fell 9%, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) joined the falling bank stocks with 8.3% and 7.1% falls respectively, but National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) "only" fell 4.3% and saved the bank sector from looking much worse. The other losers mostly fell between 3% and 7%. | |