Dubai's market clocked up its first loss in over a week as investors sold positions ahead of second quarter results due to be released in a matter of weeks.
The Dubai Financial Market General Index slipped 0.4 per cent to 1,552.11 points this morning, after a four-day rally, as traders await market-moving updates on company earnings. Volumes of traded shares on the market also struggled to breach 65 million, compared to volumes at least double this at the height of the property boom in 2007.
Increased trading volumes, the majority excercised by day traders that buy and sell on a regular basis, fuels increased liquidity and higher prices on the market.
"We need volumes of at least 250 million [in Dubai] and for an average of one or two weeks to build up trading and liquidity in the long-term," said Amjad Bakir, the trading manager at Wafa Financial Services [CK - keep this name, I've been asked by the company specifically].
"Don't forget the market is working in a side-ways movement, which is going to be bad for volumes," he said.
Property bellwether Emaar Properties also dragged on the Dubai index after the developer's Indian unit swung to a net loss.
The Indian subsidiary of the developer of the world's tallest skyscraper, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, swung to a loss of 2.1 billion Indian rupees ($46 million) for the year ended March 31.
Emaar Properties dropped 0.7 per cent to Dh3.07.
The capital's market, the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, also slipped 0.5 per cent at 2,717.07 points.
