Gaza ceasefire fails to lift Dubai stocks

Dubai, November 22, 2012

Dubai's bourse slipped after two sessions of gains and volumes drop to a two-week low as investors saw little reason to increase their market exposure despite a ceasefire in the Gaza-Israel conflict.

The emirate's index ended 0.2 percent lower at 1,597 points, heading back to Monday's seven-week low. About 55 million shares traded, the lowest total since Nov. 7.

A ceasefire between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers took hold on Thursday after eight days of conflict, although deep mistrust on both sides cast doubt on how long the Egyptian-sponsored deal can last.

"Markets right now don't have much of a catalyst going for them - given the major political overhang on asset values, which affects investor sentiment," said Haissam Arabi, chief executive and fund manager at Gulfmena Investments. "We might see valuations remain attractive if things don't change."

Shares in Nasdaq Dubai-listed Depa pared gains after builder Arabtec said it had acquired a 24.3 percent stake in the interior contractor.

Depa dropped 14.8 percent after surging 47 percent on Wednesday.

Shares in Arabtec gave back early-session gains to end 2.1 percent lower, extending November's losses to 11.2 percent. The stock had declined in recent months on delisting worries after Abu Dhabi fund Aabar Investments increased its stake in the firm.

Elsewhere, Abu Dhabi's benchmark ended flat at 2,642 points. – Reuters

Tags: Dubai | stocks | gaza | bourse | Ceasefire |