DUBAI: The Dubai index snapped a three-day losing streak on Monday helped by Arabtec, even as investors may continue to book profits ahead of holidays later in the week. The Abu Dhabi index ended higher.

The Dubai Financial Market General Index ended 0.14 per cent higher at 4,997.91, after losing 2.6 per cent in the previous three sessions.

“We have seen some consolidation at the same levels with some amount of profit taking,” said Marwan Shurrab, fund manager and head of trading at Vision Investments & Holdings.

Eid Al Adha holidays for the UAE financial markets will begin on Friday, and trading will resume on Tuesday.

Emaar Properties, which was the most active stock by value, shed 0.87 per cent to end at Dh11.45.

“We still have some liquidity stuck in Emaar’s IPO, I would expect with finalisation of Emaar IPO, more liquidity to come to the market,” said Shurrab.

The subscription for the retail investors ended on September 24 for Emaar Mall’s IPO. Subscription for Institutional investors ended on September 26, although the company said the portion was oversubscribed just one day after the launch. The shares will list on the DFM on October 2.

Arabtec, which was the second most active stock by value, ended 1.38 per cent higher at Dh4.48 per share after the company said it will commence the $40 billion (Dh147 billion) Egypt project immediately and has made positive progress with the authorities.

On the index, out of a total of 32 shares traded on the exchange, shares of 11 companies declined, shares of only 14 rose, while shares of the remaining 7 companies stayed unchanged.

In Abu Dhabi, the general index ended 0.54 per cent higher at 5,102.32. Out of a total of 33 companies, shares of 19 companies rose, while 4 of them declined and the other 10 remained steady.

Strong third quarter

“We would see some selective investments in companies that are expected to benefit from strong expectations of quarter three 2014. The future outlook for equities is positive as expectations from companies for Q3 is positive,” said Shuraab.

The companies will start publishing results for the quarter to September by next month.

A rebound in the economy along with rising property prices is expected to help banking and real estate sector, which corners the index.