Dubai: Buying in a few property stocks gave some stability to the Dubai market even as blue-chip Emaar Properties posted strong results after the market’s hours.

“Although the results were negative, mainly in the construction sector, announcing the positive results of Aldar and du has created some kind of support to the market and positive momentum for investors,” Tariq Qaqish, head of asset management at Al Mal Capital, said.

The Dubai Financial Market General Index (DFMGI) closed 0.46 per cent higher at 3,652.82, after losing more than 2 per cent in the previous session.

“At the same time oversold stocks — from a pure technical point of view — such as DSI or Eshraq have created an opportunity for speculators to jump onto the wagon, although the results for the fourth quarter were negative and concerning,” Qaqish said. “We would assume that part of today’s trading would be a buy-on-dips strategy among traders.”

Deyaar Properties closed at Dh0.61, up 4.27 per cent, while contractor Drake and Scull closed 6.92 per cent higher at Dh0.510. Union Properties closed 4.78 per cent higher at Dh1.03.

Stuck on Arabtec

However, sellers were stuck in Arabtec shares.

Arabtec hit the lower circuit a second day in a row, with about 121 million outstanding sell orders.

“Arabtec is expected to stabilise in the trading range of Dh0.93-1.04,” Shiv Prakash, senior analyst with National Bank of Abu Dhabi Securities, said in a note.

Arabtec closed at Dh1.08, down nearly 10 per cent on the day. All eyes are expected to be on the reaction to Emaar’s results on Wednesday.

“Traders may look to hold and add further for the next target at Dh7.90/Dh8.43 in the short term. The stop loss should now be trailed higher at the Dh7.50-support [level],” Prakash said.

Emaar beat analyst expectations, with the developer reporting a more than 56 per cent growth in net profit for the December quarter.

Overall the index is stuck in a trading range.

“The index seems to be locked in a tussle positioning [at] 3,620-3,738, that’s around 118 points. {A] correction towards [the] 3,550-3,500 levels is possible if the index closes below the support level of 3,625,” Prakash said.

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index closed 0.19 per cent lower at 4,572.57.

Eshraq Properties closed 9.09 per cent higher at Dh1.08 while Dana Gas closed 6.38 per cent higher at Dh0.50. Union National Bank closed 4.09 per cent higher at Dh4.58 while Rak Properties closed 2.63 per cent higher at Dh0.78.

Elsewhere in the Gulf, Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul index closed 0.38 per cent lower at 7,032.65 while the Qatar exchange index closed the session 0.07 per cent higher at 10,670.51.

The Muscat MSM 30 Index closed 0.06 per cent higher at 5,819.08.