UAE shares lower in thin trading

UAE stock indexes closed lower on Sunday in thin trading, ahead of the release of results by Emaar Properties later in the afternoon. Bourses across the Arabian Gulf were slightly lower, with the exception of a gain in Bahrain, as regional stocks were little affected by the WannaCry ransomware attacks launched globally at the weekend. The Dubai Financial Market General Index ended the day down 0.1 per cent at 3,415.69, on the index’s quietest trading day in three weeks. Shares in DXB Entertainments led the sell-off, extending last week’s falls in the wake of it reporting widening losses for the first quarter. The theme parks owner’s shares closed down 3.3 per cent at 87.4 fils, an all-time low for the stock. The index bellwether Emaar Properties closed down 0.4 per cent at Dh7.46, ahead of the developer’s announcement of a 15 per cent increase in first-quarter profits. Damac Properties was the pick of seven gainers, rising 3 per cent to Dh2.72. The benchmark index in Abu Dhabi fell 0.3 per cent to 4,593.29, with trading volumes less than two thirds of the daily average for the past six months. Etisalat acted as a drag on the capital’s headline index, its shares closing down 1.7 per cent to Dh17.60. Agthia shares fell 6.2 per cent to an eight-month low of Dh5.58, after the food and beverage producer reported a 22 per cent drop in first-quarter profits last week. First Abu Dhabi Bank led a handful of gainers, rising 0.4 per cent to Dh11.30. Depa shares, listed on Nasdaq Dubai, ended the day unchanged at 36 US cents, after the contractor reported a 170 per cent increase in first-quarter profits. jeverington@thenational.ae Follow The National's Business section on Twitter