Dubai Shares Fall to Three-Week Low, Led by Emaar, on S&P Move

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Dubai’s benchmark index declined to the lowest level in almost three weeks after Standard & Poor’s lowered Emaar Properties PJSC credit rating and placed Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC on negative outlook.

Emaar, the developer of the world’s tallest tower in Dubai, dropped 2.1 percent. Dubai Islamic Bank, the United Arab Emirates’ biggest Islamic lender, fell to the lowest level since March 18. Shuaa Capital PSC retreated the most in more than six weeks. The Dubai Financial Market General Index lost 1.9 percent to close at 1,765.23, the ninth worst performer among 93 indexes tracked by Bloomberg. The measure lost 5.1 percent in the week, after gaining 16 percent last month.

“The market is going through a classic case of loss aversion after the rally in March,” said Sameh Hassan, director of research at Rasmala Investment Bank Ltd. “With this state of mind, investors look for reasons to justify their sales, and an S&P downgrade satisfies that need.”