Volatility continued to plague the UAE's major markets as political tensions in Cairo under the Mubarak regime deepened.
Dubai's main bourse, the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) General Index slipped 0.8 per cent to 1,581.01 points reversing sharper gains made yesterday. The DFM has lost nearly four per cent in value since the onset of the demonstrations on the January 24.But the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange rose 0.8 per cent to 2,645.02
Drake & Scull International, the engineering and contracting company, slipped 1.9 per cent to Dh1.03 in Dubai even as its board approved plans to target projects in Djibouti and Vietnam.
Traders continued to focus on developments in Egypt as protestors and the government's military clashed today.
Egypt's benchmark index, the EGX 30 Index remains closed for the sixth working day, but is expected to reopen on Monday.
Other indices fared better including Qatar's measure, which crept up 0.3 per cent to 8,761.20 points.
"Qatari investors usually boost the market. Last week when everyone else was down Qatar was the only one in the green," said Alfred Fayek, head of MENA equity sales at EFG Hermes.
"Even if foreign investors sell, you get Qatari investors buying," he said.
Saudi Arabia's Tadawul, the Arab world's largest stock market, climbed 2.2 per cent to 6,513.28 points, reversing a severe drop on the first day of trading this week when the impact of Egypt's political problems hit home.
Elsewhere in the region, Oman's measure ticked 0.09 per cent higher to 6,856.64 points, Kuwait slipped 0.6 per cent to 6,774.50 points and Bahrain's index dropped 0.7 per cent to 1,442.35.
Tunisia's Tunindex was also in positive territory as it closed 2.5 per cent higher to 4,433.31 points.
