By: Mahmoud Gamal
Dubai – Mubasher: The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) ended 2018’s trading sessions on a negative note, losing up to AED 51.2 billion in market cap, pressured by sales on blue chips along with the tense global economic situation.
By the end of the year, the main index retreated by 24.9%, or 840.32 points, to 2,529.75 points.
The DFM’s market value plunged to AED 342.85 billion ($93.35 billion) by the end of 2018 from AED 394.28 billion ($107.29 billion) in 2017.
Sectors
The investment sector topped the DFM’s losers falling 44%, pressured by the drop of Dubai Investments and DFM Company, while the real estate sector slid 39% as Emaar Properties and Drake and Scull International (DSI) nosedived by 42.36% and 83.63%, respectively.
Similarly, the transportation sector plunged 10.3% as Gulf Navigation Holding, Air Arabia, and Aramex decreased by 35.51%, 19.8% and 6.9%, respectively.
The banks sector fell 6.4% as Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) and GFH retreated 19.8% and 38%, respectively.
The market’s liquidity decreased 45% to AED 47.94 billion over 2018, compared to AED 86.64 billion in 2017, while trading volume fell 48% to 33.32 billion shares, against 63.34 billion shares in the prior year.
GFH’s stock acquired around AED 7.08 billion of the bourse’s total liquidity.
Expectations
The market’s drop came on the back of the announcement of restructurings across several DFM-listed firms, Fadi Al Ghattis, CEO of MindCraft Consultants told Mubasher.
Al Ghattis added that the real estate sector was among the biggest losers due to investor fears over the year, affected by external economic situations such as the US-China trade war and the sliding Turkish lira.
The US-China trade war truce and OPEC’s agreement regarding oil prices might affect the DFM’s performance in 2019, Al Ghattis pointed out.
Translated by: Kholoud Mohamed Hussein
