UAE, Qatar markets drop in broad sell-off; Dubai hits 2015 low

Stock markets in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates slid in a broad sell-off Tuesday as most buyers await signs the bourses have bottomed out before committing more cash.

Abu Dhabi’s bourse tumbled 2 percent to a three-week low as Monday’s 0.3 percent gain proved a fleeting recovery.

Financial stocks were the main drag. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank dropped 6.5 percent and First Gulf Bank lost 2.5 percent.

“A lack of buying interest as Emirati markets near their technical support zones will force them to register new lows,” Shiv Prakash, senior research analyst at Abu Dhabi’s NBAD Securities, wrote in a note.

Dubai’s index dropped 2.5 percent to 3,059 points to hit a 2015 low. The benchmark is down 20 percent this year.

Dubai’s Drake and Scull and Emaar Properties – two favourite stocks of retail traders – extended declines, falling 4.4 and 3.2 percent respectively.

Qatar’s benchmark eased 1.8 percent. Masraf Al Rayan, the session’s most traded stock, fell 2.9 percent. Vodafone Qatar declined 2.2 percent.

Source: Reuters