Dubai Shares Drop Most Since August on Global Growth Concern c.2011 Bloomberg News
Nov. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Dubai shares fell the most in almost three months on speculation a rally late last month was overdone and as European leaders struggled to contain the debt crisis.
Emaar Properties PJSC, developer of the world's tallest building, tumbled 2.9 percent after surging 12 percent in the past week. Dubai Financial Market PJSC declined the most in more than two weeks. The DFM General Index dropped 1.8 percent, the most since Aug. 9, to 1,382.71 at the 2 p.m. close in Dubai. The measure surged 4.6 percent in the three-day period ending Oct. 30. Abu Dhabi's ADX General Index lost 0.2 percent, extending yesterday's 0.3 percent drop.
“What we're seeing yesterday and today is normal profit taking,” said Chahir Hosni, equity sales manager at EFG-Hermes Holding SAE in Dubai. Declines in global markets are also “impacting the weakness today,” he said.
Asian stocks fell, the euro weakened a third day and the cost of insuring bonds against default rose as data added to evidence that regional economies are slowing as Europe's debt crisis curbs exports. Crude for December delivery dropped as much as 2.9 percent to $90.51 a barrel in electronic trading in New York on speculation commodity demand may falter after a Chinese manufacturing index missed estimates. Gulf Arab oil exporters supply about a fifth of the world's oil.
Europe's Debt
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index decreased 2.2 percent and futures on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index slipped after Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou said he will put Europe's new agreement on financing for Greece to a popular vote.
Dubai stocks rallied earlier this week as third-quarter earnings at Emaar and Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC, the United Arab Emirates' biggest bank complying with Shariah rules, beat estimates and European leaders agreed to expand a bailout fund.
Emaar sank the most since Oct. 4 to 2.7 dirhams. Dubai Financial Market, the only publicly traded Gulf Arab stock market, declined 3.6 percent, the most since Oct. 16, to 99.3 fils.
Saudi Arabia's Tadawul All Share Index lost 1 percent at 1:55 p.m. in Riyadh and the Bloomberg GCC 200 Index retreated 0.8 percent. Qatar's QE Index also fell 0.8 percent, Kuwait's gauge declined less than 0.1 percent, while Bahrain's benchmark and Oman's MSM30 Index decreased 0.1 percent.
--With assistance from Ahmed A Namatalla in Cairo. Editors: Claudia Maedler, Susan Lerner
To contact the reporter on this story: Zahra Hankir in Dubai at zhankirbloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Maedler at cmaedlerbloomberg.net