Dubai slips to six-day low as Emaar drags

Dubai's Emaar Properties tumbles after its quarterly earnings missed estimates, dragging down the emirate's bourse to a six-day low.

Shares in Emaar fall 3.7 percent, but are still up 25 percent in 2013.

The developer posted a 28-percent drop in fourth-quarter profit, as costs soared amid a revival of stalled projects in the emirate.

Analysts say the earnings were strong despite the miss, as revenue from its retail and hospitality business remains healthy.

"Investors were just looking for an opportunity to book profit," says Sebastien Henin, portfolio manager at The National Investor. "We were expecting this move but it doesn't change the overall fundamental strength of Dubai."

Heavyweight Emirates NBD also weighs, falling 2.1 percent. The bank said it will start repaying part of the 12.6 billion dirhams ($3.43 billion) it received from the government in 2008.

Dubai's benchmark drops 2.1 percent to close at 1,848 points, down from Thursday's 37-month high. It's the largest one-day fall since March 7.

Abu Dhabi's measure ends little changed, easing 0.03 percent from Thursday's near-three-year high.

In Qatar, the bourse also ends near-flat.