By: Mahmoud Gamal
Dubai – Mubasher: The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) ended April in the red, pressured by increased selling of leading stocks, particularly those in the real estate and investment sectors.
The DFMGI shed 1.88% or 65.5 points to close the month at 3,414.93 points, extending monthly losses.
The real estate sector fell 2.4% after DAMAC plunged 10.6%, while Drake & Scull International (DSI) and Emaar Properties were down 0.7% and 0.3%, respectively.
The investment sector tumbled 7.9% after Dubai Investments and DFM Company slid 8.2% and 8%, respectively.
On the positive side, the transport sector increased 2.8% after Aramex grew 6.7%.
Commenting on the DFM’s monthly performance, market analyst Amin Al Hennawy noted that among the reasons behind the decline in April was the delayed disclosures of first quarter financials by some companies.
The growing fears regarding the fate of some companies like Arabtec and DSI following the “shocking” annual results have also contributed to the decline, the analyst told Mubasher.
In April, turnover stood at AED 5.46 billion, down from AED 7.25 billion in March, while traded volume decreased to 4.32 billion shares from 4.74 billion.
Market capitalisation fell by AED 27.66 billion ($7.53 billion) to close at AED 364.67 billion ($99.30 billion) in April, down from AED 392.33 billion ($106.83 billion) in March.
Al Hennawy told Mubasher that he expects the downtrend to continue in May and the second quarter of 2017, noting that this view is due to the absence of catalysts and increased negative speculation regarding the remaining companies’ Q1 financials.
Translated by: Nada Adel Sobhi
