US-China dispute unsettles bourses

Middle East stock markets mostly fell yesterday because of US-China trade tensions, with Dubai sliding despite a new visa policy designed to support real estate prices.

Saudi Arabia’s market, however, rebounded after a fiveday slide.

The UAE announced visa rules allowing retired residents to stay in the country with renewable five-year visas, which could encourage them to buy homes or make other investments. The government also introduced lower electricity tariffs for the industrial sector.

But stock markets remained weak and the Dubai index lost 0.8 per cent to 2,752 points, a 32-month low. Blue chip Emaar Properties shed 1.7 per cent and Damac Properties sank 2.9 per cent.

In Abu Dhabi, the index slid 1.7 per cent to 4,883 points as top real estate firm Aldar Properties dropped 2.7 per cent. The biggest bank, First Abu Dhabi, lost 2.6 per cent.

“It’s obviously a positive development from a long-term perspective for the UAE real estate sector,” Ayub Ansari, senior analyst at Sico in Bahrain, said of the visa policy.

Dubai inflation data published yesterday showed housing market deflation deepening. Housing and utility costs fell 3.6 per cent from a year earlier in August, after a 3.2 per cent drop in July and a 2.6 per cent decline in June.

In Egypt, the stock index shed 0.7 per cent to 14,651 points, its lowest close this year, after sliding 3.6 per cent on Sunday in response to news that an Egyptian criminal court had ordered the arrest of ousted President Hosni Mubarak’s two sons on charges of stock market manipulation.

Two stocks that were hit particularly hard by the legal case stabilised yesterday. However. Qalaa Holdings, which plunged 6 per cent on Sunday, last traded up 0.6 per cent; its investor relations head Amr El Kadi was detained in connection with case, the company said.

Investment bank EFG Hermes, which had tumbled 8.6 per cent, rebounded 3.3 per cent. The company said its non-executive vice chairman Yasser El Mallawany had been detained in connection.

The big exception to the downtrend in regional markets was Saudi Arabia, where the index gained 1.9 per cent to 7,610 points, rebounding from Sunday’s six-month low.