UAE bourses slump to milestone lows

Dubai's shares slumped to a seven-month low and Abu Dhabi's bourse hit a 22-month low on worries the Eurozone leaders were not doing enough to solve the region's debt crisis. Dubai's benchmark fell 0.7 percent to 1,375 points, its lowest close since March 7, when regional markets tumbled amid the early stages of the Arab spring. Bellwether Emaar Properties fell 2 percent, Dubai Financial Market dropped 3.8 percent and telco du declined 1.4 percent. With few local catalysts to trade on, Gulf markets have taken their cue from volatile world stocks in recent weeks as investors tried to gauge the impact of Europe's festering debt crisis on global growth. "Recapitalising [European] banks is important to stabilise the effect of recent downgrading, but that doesn't solve the problem," said Mohammed Yasin, CAPM Investment chief investment officer. "Because of austerity plans, the growth in GDP is not going to happen, which means more pressure on those economies. We are living in volatile times." In Abu Dhabi, the benchmark slipped 0.3 percent to 2,471 points, its lowest close since December 2009. Sorouh Real Estate fell 3.1 percent, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank slipped 1.1 percent and Aldar Properties dropped 1.9 percent. "Our markets will continue trading in the [same] range. I don't see an event that's going to change that," Yasin added. In Qatar, the benchmark climbed 0.5 percent to end at 8,438 points as gainers outnumbered losers 16 to two. Sentiment was buoyed after some companies announced above-forecast earnings. Industries Qatar rose 0.8 percent. It reported a 47.9 percent jump in quarterly net profit on Wednesday. Banks also rose, with Commercial Bank of Qatar gaining 1.4 percent, Masraf Al Rayan rising 0.7 percent and Qatar National Bank up 0.5 percent. Oman's shares bounced back from Thursday's seven-week lows as upbeat bank results helped lift the country's index, but trading was muted. Bank Muscat gained 1.8 percent, climbing for a second session since reporting a 15.8 percent increase in third-quarter profit, beating forecasts. Traders had been waiting for the bellwether to report earnings. Bank Sohar rose 1.3 percent and National Bank of Oman climbed 0.3 percent. The index ended 0.4 percent higher at 5,538 points, trimming 2011 losses to 18 percent. In Kuwait, the index rose 0.5 percent to close at 5,899 points, but was still down 15.2 percent for the year. Attractive valuations pulled in investors, with National Bank of Kuwait up 1.9 percent, Commercial Bank of Kuwait rising 2.4 percent and Global Investment House climbing 2.5 percent. Zain fell 1.1 percent to a 20-month low after the telecoms operator named Omar al-Omar as acting chief executive of its domestic operations. Saudi Arabia petrochemical stocks fell as investors cashed in from Saturday's rally, while banks earnings failed to excite. Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC), the Arab world's largest chemicals producer, and Saudi Arabian Fertilizers Co (Safco) each slipped 0.3 percent. The main index eased 0.3 percent to 6,148 points to be down 7.2 percent in 2011. "This could be a reaction to global events," said Asim Bukhtiar, head of research at Riyadh Capital. "There is a general dissatisfaction in the way [policy makers] are dealing with unemployment, which could affect demand for oil." Samba Financial Group rose 1.4 percent after reporting a 2.9 percent rise in quarterly profit. Riyadh Bank fell 0.6 percent, despite posting a 30 percent rise in its third-quarter net profit, which beat analysts forecasts. "We were expecting sequential growth and quarter-on-quarter numbers were not very good [for the sector]. Banks are starting to realise maybe they need to take more provisions. This doesn't give a lot of confidence going into Q4," Bukhtiar added.