Dubai Shares Fall to Three-Month Low on Greek Debt Concern, Oil Price Drop

Dubai shares retreated to the lowest level in three months as Europe’s sovereign debt crisis weighed on the global economy and the International Energy Agency said it may release more oil to stabilize prices.

Emaar Properties PJSC (EMAAR), the builder of the world’s tallest skyscraper in Dubai, tumbled to the lowest in a month. Drake & Scull International (DSI), a construction company, fell the most since May. The benchmark DFM General Index (DFMGI) slipped 1.1 percent to 1,521.15, the lowest since March 22, at the 2 p.m. close. The Bloomberg GCC 200 Index (BGCC200), which tracks the top 200 companies in the Persian Gulf, rose 0.5 percent.

Concern Greek lawmakers will fail to pass austerity measures to ensure the next installment of the nation’s international bailout helped push down European stocks last week, while U.S. equities posted their seventh loss in eight weeks as the Federal Reserve cut its growth forecast. Oil tumbled 4.6 percent on June 23 after the IAE’s decision to release 60 million barrels over 30 days.

“The market is affected by international volatility, lower oil prices,” said Tariq Qaqish, director and fund manager at Al Mal Capital PSC in Dubai. The United Arab Emirates and Qatar not being upgraded to emerging market at index provider MSCI Inc. also hurt investor sentiment, he said.

MSCI Delay
MSCI, whose stock indexes are tracked by investors with about $3 trillion in assets, kept the U.A.E. and Qatar as frontier markets on June 21, citing the need for more time for market-participant feedback. Introduction of delivery-versus- payment, a program for completing stock transactions, may help lift the nations from their rankings in December. Qatar’s QE Index (DSM) declined 0.1 percent.

Crude has tumbled 11 percent this month to close at $91.16 a barrel in New York on June 24. The six nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council supply about a fifth of the world’s oil.

Emaar fell 2 percent to 3.02 dirhams, the lowest since May 25. Drake & Scull retreated 2.2 percent to 97.2 fils. Each dirham has 100 fils.

Abu Dhabi’s ADX General Index (ADSMI) and Oman’s benchmark stock index gained 0.1 percent. Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index (SASEIDX) increased 0.9 percent. Kuwait’s measure and Bahrain’s gauge lost less than 0.1 percent. Egypt’s benchmark EGX 30 Index (EGX30) dropped 0.8 percent.

In Israel, the TA-25 Index declined 0.8 percent. The nation’s government bonds rose on expectations the Bank of Israel will hold borrowing costs at 3.25 percent, according to 23 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The yield on the benchmark Mimshal Shiklit due January 2020 fell two basis points, or 0.02 percentage point, to 5.08 percent.