Dubai Shares Fall a Fifth Day on Global Economy; Shuaa Retreats - BusinessWeek

Dubai shares declined, leading the drop in the Gulf, after a slump in U.S. consumer confidence fueled concern about the global economic recovery. Shuaa Capital PSC fell as the head of its brokerage division resigned.

The DFM General Index lost 1.4 percent to 1,461.8, the lowest since February 2009. The measure tumbled 21 percent this quarter, the most since the fourth quarter of 2008. Investment bank Shuaa slid the most in a week and Emirates NBD PJSC, the United Arab Emirates’ biggest bank by assets, also declined. The Bloomberg GCC 200 Index retreated 0.5 percent at 2:07 p.m. in Dubai. Crude oil has fallen 8.2 percent this quarter.

Declines are “in line with the global backdrop,” said Ali Khan, head of cash-equity trading at Dubai-based Arqaam Capital Ltd. “Focus is returning to the euro zone, disappointing data in the U.S. and weaker oil.”