Property stocks drag down UAE indexes

Abu Dhabi's Aldar Properties drags down the emirate's index after Moody's cut its credit rating by two notches and Kuwait slips in muted trade. The developer falls 3.7 percent.

Abu Dhabi's benchmark retreats 0.6 percent to 2,717 points, down for a third session since Sunday's near eight-month high. Volumes dip to a two-week low, showing a lack of investor interest after index compiler delayed its verdict on upgrade for United Arab Emirates and Qatar markets.

Dubai's index slips 0.8 percent to 1,537 points, extending declines for a second session after the MSCI announcement on Wednesday.

Most stocks are down, with only three gainers. Bellwether Emaar Properties slips 1.3 percent, Dubai Financial Market falls 3.3 percent and Arabtec slides 3.1 percent.

Elsewhere, Kuwait's benchmark slips 0.2 percent to 6,264 points, down in past four in six sessions. Gulf Finance House weighs with a 2.9 percent drop.

Thin volumes drag the index, as many investors are absent from the market.

"It's the usual summer doldrums, most people are away on holiday - that's affecting low turnover in the market," says Shahid Hameed, Global Investment House head of asset management for the Gulf region. "There is very limited activity and no news flow as such to excite anybody."

Zain ends flat despite a Goldman Sachs saying the company would continue to lose market share in Kuwait and Iraq, as management is more focused on corporate restructuring than on addressing the business' operating problems. It maintained a sell rating on the telecom operator.

In Qatar, the index slips 0.6 percent to 8,161 points. It ended flat for past two sessions, showing a lack of response to MSCI's decision delay.

Qatar is in talks with individual firms to raise foreign ownership limits, yet is not planning a blanket increase despite a requirement by index complier MSCI, a Doha bourse official told Reuters on Wednesday.

"If you talk to the companies, they seem quite willing to increase the limits, because they want to increase their institutional shareholder base," says Hashem Montasser, managing partner at Frontlane Capital, a Dubai-based asset management firm.

Most stocks are lower but on thin volumes. Qatar National Bank falls 1.4 percent, Masraf Al Rayan and Barwa Real Estate shed 1 percent each.

Qatar Telecommunications bucks the trend and rises 0.3 percent after Goldman and Sachs raises its price target and upgrades from neutral to buy.