Abu Dhabi: The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) index continued its climb that started with the beginning of this month as the index went up 4.41 per cent on Sunday to end at 4,593.57, bringing its total growth for July to 15.7 per cent.

Meanwhile, the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) general index went up 1.65 per cent to end at 4,849.47.

The gains on DFM were supported by a 14.77 per cent increase in share prices of Arabtec. The real estate developer made up 43 per cent of the total value of trade on DFM on Sunday alone.

The increase in Arabtec prices brings the shares to a value of Dh4.04 — a 46.4 per cent increase since the beginning of the month. Shares started the day at a value of Dh3.57, and reached a minimum of Dh3.42 shortly after 10am. The rest of the day saw a steady incline with prices reaching their highest of Dh4.04 in the last 15 minutes before the market closed.

Most powerhouses in Dubai also ended the day in the green. Union Properties rose 10.5 per cent, Deyaar Development went up 6.31 per cent, Drake & Scull International climbed 5.3 per cent, Dubai Investment Co rose 4.2 per cent, and Emaar gained 1.95 per cent.

Correction in the market

Analyst Osama Al Ashry attributed the gains in the market to a correction following the steep plunge in June when the DFM index fell 30 per cent.

“The DFM index reached its resistance of 4,590, but I am still not optimistic with this because the index relied on only Arabtec, which is already a high-risk stock,” he said.

Al Ashry, a member of British organisation, Society of Technical Analysts, discussed the performance of Arabtec saying, “Arabtec share prices fell from Dh7.75 to Dh2.35 in the past few weeks, so it needed to correct. I expect this growth to continue on the short term, and then shares will drop again. I don’t think prices can reach the resistance of Dh5.”

He added that the market blue chips such as Emaar, and Dubai Islamic Bank, have not gained much, which is not a positive sign.

“I will be optimistic with the DFM index when it goes past 5,000 because this will indicate that there is real trade, and real purchasing power in the market,” the analyst said.

Of the 32 stocks traded on DFM, 24 went up, four went down, and four remained unchanged. Of the 31 stocks traded on ADX, 17 advanced, 11 declined, and three remained flat.