By: Bedour El-Raie
Dubai – Mubasher: The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) closed the first half of 2017 on a low note, pressured by its leading sectors particularly banks and telecoms, whereas real estate stocks gained.
The DFMGI slid 2.66% or 120.97 points to 4,425.40 points in the first six months of 2017.
The investment sector led losers, falling 10.91%, while telecoms shed 1.11% after its stock du retreated 13.7% over the six-month period. The banks sector declined 1.86% after the Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD) plunged 18.26% and Emirates NBD dropped 4.12%.
On the positive side, the industrial sectors jumped 8.63% on the back of National Cement Co. (NCC), which grew 8.62%. The transport sector increased 2.02% after Aramex surged 27.27%.
Turnover amounted to AED 69.86 billion in H1-17 after 53.18 billion shares changed hands through 643,543 transactions.
Market capitalisation for locally-traded companies amounted to AED 353.528 billion by the end of trading on Thursday, 29 June.
Commenting the DFM’s performance, Eyad Al-Bareeqy, general manager at Al-Ansari Financial Services (AFS) that UAE market performance varied during the first six months of the year.
UAE bourses were impacted by falling oil prices, earlier this month, and the overall slowdown of the global economy, Al-Bareeqy told Mubasher, noting that the DFM’s performance was in line with neighbouring bourses, particularly as June coincided with the holy month of Ramadan, which is usually associated with lower trading activity and falling turnover.
At the level of the second quarter of 2017, the DFMGI fell 2.5% after 18.32 billion shares were traded, generating AED 21.63 billion.
As for the month of June, the DFMGI gained 1.58% after 6.02 billion shares were exchanged at a turnover of AED 7.12 billion.
The DFM was significantly impacted by several disclosures pertaining to listed companies including Emaar Properties’ statements on profits from its initial public offering (IPO) of its real estate development business, Al-Bareeqy told Mubasher.
The stock saw major purchases but suffered strong profit-taking towards the end of the month, pressuring the bourse, the analyst added.
In June, the real estate sector added 0.41%, backed by Arabtec’s 119.08% surge, while DAMAC and Emaar Properties gained 25% and 9.1%, respectively.
It is forecast that the DFM will see improved performance in July, a month that coincides with financial disclosures for H1-17, which Al-Bareeqy expects to be positive results and in line with expectations.
He noted that current stock prices on the DFM are attractive and encourage investments.
Translated by: Nada Adel Sobhi
