By: Mahmoud Gamal
Dubai – Mubasher: The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) closed Wednesday in the red, marking its sharpest daily drop in a month and a half, or since 14 December, pressured by declines in its sectors particularly real estate and banks.
The DFMGI dropped 1.23% or 45.5 points to close at 3,394.36 points, shrugging off analysts’ forecasts.
The DFM was pressured on Wednesday by performance across global markets, including the US, which suffered strong losses on Tuesday, not seen since September 2016, commented technical analyst Gamal Abdelhamid.
He added that the declines coincided with US President Donald Trump’s latest speech on North Korea and commercial relations with Europe.
Pressure from blue chips like Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) also contributed to the DFM’s decline, the analyst told Mubasher, noting that DIB recently confirmed plans that it would raise its capital and issue shares at a price lower than the market price, which confused investors, prompting them to sell.
The transport sector led fallers on Wednesday, after Aramex lost 3.2% to AED 4.21, while the real estate sector declined 1.6% after DAMAC and Emaar Properties retreated 2.05% and 1.64%, respectively.
The banks sector was also down 1.18% after DIB dropped 2.09% to AED 6.10, while the investment sector decreased 1.04% on the back of Dubai Investments, which lost 1.23%.
Turnover fell to AED 371.53 million on Wednesday from AED 556.83 million on Tuesday, while traded volume fell to 200.5 million shares traded versus 375.76 million.
Abdelhamid forecast that the DFM would rebound in the coming sessions, but noted that a continued decline would result in a retreat towards 3381 and 3376 points.
Translated by: Nada Adel Sobhi
