Dubai: Gulf Finance House (GFH) sprang back in action on Wednesday, hitting its highest level in 52 weeks, as traders aggressively bought into the stock.
GFH touched Dh2.16 before retreating slightly to close 9.18 per cent higher on the previous session at Dh2.14 while Shuaa Capital closed 7.4 per cent higher at Dh1.63.
GFH and HITS Telecom contributed to more than 60 per cent of the market’s total volumes of Dh1.21 billion.
“GFH popped up today. Most of the retail and ultra high-net worth individuals are behind these small stocks,” said Saleem Khokhar, head of equities at the National Bank of Abu Dhabi’s Asset Management Group.
In other stocks, HITS Telecom rose more than 4 per cent to close at Dh0.898.
The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) General Index closed 0.59 per cent higher at 3,694.14.
Out of the 36 stocks traded on the exchange, the shares of 22 firms rose, while those of seven fell.
The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General index closed 0.7 per cent higher at 4,695.91.
First Gulf Bank closed 1.52 per cent higher at Dh13.20 while National Bank of Abu Dhabi closed 1.43 per cent higher at Dh10.65.
Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank closed 1.60 per cent higher at Dh7.64.
Positive
“The overall outlook is positive. The Dubai market has a lot of positives in the global backdrop,” said Khokhar.
The Dubai index has gained more than 4.6 per cent in the month so far, after gaining 43 per cent in the past one year.
“Investors may want to balanced it out now. They may want to take a little bit of that high-risk exposure and dividend stocks,” Khokhar said.
Elsewhere in the gulf, Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul closed 0.23 per cent lower at 6,857.92. The Muscat Securities MSM 30 index closed 0.29 per cent lower at 5,720.77.
The Kuwait Stock Exchange general index closed 0.80 per cent higher at 6,351.77.
