Dubai Shares Slumps to Lowest in Two Weeks on Global Growth Risk, Oil Drop - Bloomberg

Dubai shares declined to the lowest level in almost two weeks as slower-than-estimated growth in personal incomes in the U.S. stoked concern the pace of the global economic recovery is faltering. Crude oil dropped. Emaar Properties PJSC, builder of the world’s tallest skyscraper in Dubai, retreated for a second day. Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC, the United Arab Emirates’ largest Shariah-compliant bank, dropped 1.1 percent. The DFM General Index slipped 0.5 percent to 1,483.67, the lowest level since Aug. 18, at the 2 p.m. close in the emirate. The measure declined 1.9 percent this month. The Bloomberg GCC 200 Index of Persian Gulf stocks lost 1.2 percent this month.

“Poor economic reports out of the U.S. have a negative impact on the market,” said Ziad Dabbas, a financial analyst at National Bank of Abu Dhabi PJSC, the U.A.E.’s second-largest lender by assets. “Volume is low, indicating that investors are on the sidelines. During Ramadan, business is usually slow in the Gulf.”

U.S. stocks declined yesterday after government data showed personal incomes climbed 0.2 percent in July, less than the 0.3 percent projected in a Bloomberg survey of economists. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 1.5 percent. European stocks slumped before reports on U.S. property values and consumer confidence that may indicate threats to the recovery in the world’s largest economy are mounting.