[2008-03-25]  DFM tumbles 2.7 per cent
Shares in the UAE yesterday dropped as institutional investors went back to the US market, whose banking system has been revived with more cash from the Federal Reserve.

The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) General Index tumbled 2.7 per cent to close at 5,399.38 while the Abu Dhabi Securities Market (ADSM) Index fell 1.6 per cent at 4,572.11 points.

Bahrain-based Gulf Finance House was the biggest loser on DFM with a fall of 13.2 per cent to Dh13.10 from Dh15.10. Commercial Bank of Dubai dropped five per cent to Dh9.12 while Dubai Islamic Bank slipped for a third session at 4.5 per cent to Dh9.22.

Aramex dropped 2.8 per cent to Dh2.80. It has opened a new logistics centre in Egypt to enhance its 5,000-sq m facility and expand its supply-chain solutions in that North African country.

DP World decreased 1.2 per cent to $0.80 on the Dubai International Financial Exchange. "Institutional investors have turned back to the US market," said Ahmed Mitkees, a researcher at NBD Securities, in a Bloomberg report.

DFM said on Saturday that foreign investors were net sellers of shares valued at Dh218 million last week. Last week US stocks posted their biggest gain in seven weeks on the revived banking system and better than expected earnings by the largest securities firms on Wall Street. National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah plummeted 29.9 per cent to Dh6.31, trailing all other ADSM-listed companies, followed by Oman & Emirates Investment Holding Co, which declined 9.6per cent to Dh5.95.



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