Insurance stocks hit upper limit as aggressive buying continues

Dubai: Insurance stocks witnessed resurgent interest in trade, hitting their upper limit, after medical policies were made mandatory, triggering buying in other bluechips.

Dubai Islamic Insurance and Reinsurance Co. or Aman, Takaful Emarat hit upper limit in trade. Aman closed nearly 15 per cent higher at Dh1.09. Takaful Emarat closed 4.35 per cent higher at Dh2.4. Salama closed steady at Dh0.615.

“Salama surged as expected, almost met the target at Dh0.68. In case of a break over, the stock may extend the move towards Dh1.00 in the medium term,” said Shiv Prakash, senior analyst with National Bank of Abu Dhabi Securities in his daily technical notes.

Dar Al Takaful gained 41 per cent in the last three sessions till Tuesday. Dar Al Takaful closed 0.75 per cent lower at Dh1.32.

Traders may look to hold Dar Al Takaful and trail the stop loss higher, Prakash said.

Dubai Investments also witnessed buying, as traders chased other momentum stocks. Dubai Investments rose more than 3 per cent to be at Dh2.54. Dubai Islamic Bank closed more than 5 per cent higher at Dh5.71. Traders were playing with momentum, spurring volumes, which were at Dh628 million.

The Dubai Financial Market General index closed 0.29 per cent higher at the intra-day high of 3,627.86, after hitting a high of 3,646.45, a level last seen on December 12. “Traders may look to hold positions in Dubai index and add further selectively,” said Prakash. Out of a total of 36 stocks traded on the exchange, shares of 14 firms each rose and fell. The rest remained steady.

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange general index closed 0.31 per cent higher at 4,601.96. International Fish Farming or Asmak closed 14.62 per cent higher at Dh2.43.

Asmak is poised to target Dh2.80/3.20 in the near term. Traders may look to buy using Dh1.80 as a stop loss, said Prakash. Abu Dhabi National Takaful closed 6.25 per cent higher at Dh4.25. Al Khazna Insurance closed 8.51 per cent higher at Dh0.51. Out of a total of 31 stocks traded on the exchange, shares of 15 firms rose, while other 8 fell. The rest remained steady.

Elsewhere in the Gulf, the Qatar exchange index closed 0.27 per cent higher at 10,717.34. The Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul index closed 0.07 per cent lower at 7,193.31.

The Muscat Securities MSM 30 index closed 0.62 per cent higher at 5,792.66. The Bahrain bourse all share index closed 0.11 per cent lower at 1,206.40. The Kuwait Stock Exchange index closed 0.75 per cent higher at 5,831.19.