UAE stocks start week off in red

The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) was down 0.17 percent to 3,087 points within the first half hour of trading, while Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange’s (ADX) general index slipped 0.35 percent to 4,198 points.

Dana Gas fell 2.04 percent to AED 0.48 just after the market in Abu Dhabi opened. National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) fell 1.84 percent to AED 8.00.

Dubai-listed Damac Properties was up 1.21 percent to AED 2.51. The company revealed plans for its latest project, the four million square foot AYKON City. The mixed-use development has a projected sales value of AED 7.4 billion. Construction is set to begin this summer with a completion date in 2021.

Arabtec Holding jumped 4.63 percent to AED 1.13 at opening. The company said it swung to a net loss of AED 2.3 billion for fiscal year 2015, compared to a net profit of AED 215 million in 2014.

Oil and global markets

Brent crude closed 3.7 percent lower at $33.01 a barrel (bbl) on Friday, while WTI crude dropped 3.67 percent to $29.64/bbl. On Thursday, data from the US-based Energy Information Administration (EIA) revealed a 2.1 million barrel increase in crude stocks in the week ending February 12.

China’s Shanghai Composite index was down 0.10 percent to close Friday at 2,860 points. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slipped 0.40 percent to 19,285 points. Japan’s Nikkei was down 1.42 percent to 15,967 points.

In the US, Dow Jones closed 0.13 percent lower at 16,392 points on Friday. The Nasdaq rose 0.38 percent to close at 4,504 points.

Write to Matthew Watson at matthew.w@argaamplus.com and

Nadeshda Zareen at nadeshda.zareen@argaamplus.com