Dubai:
Small stocks were still favoured by traders on Dubai bourse even as the index witnessed late recovery and managed to end half a per cent higher.
The Dubai Financial Market General index closed 0.42 per cent higher at 3,617.40, after trading in the range of 3,586.53- 3,617.43.
“The market today was mainly driven by trading opportunities. The main focus was still on insurance sector, and investors are still trading in insurance names,” said Marwan Shurrab, fund manager and head of trading at Vision Investments & Holdings.
Islamic Arab Insurance Company or Salama closed 7.66 per cent lower at Dh0.615. Amanat closed 0.30 per cent higher at Dh0.988.
Dubai Entertainments closed 1.5 per cent higher at Dh1.35.
“The main contributor to volatility was movement in Emirates NBD, and that attributes to a large percentage of index movements,” Shurrab said. Emirates NBD closed 2.85 per cent higher at Dh8.65.
Traded volumes continued to be on a recovery mode. The traded volumes in value terms were at Dh695 million. The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange general index closed 0.06 per cent lower at 4,587.67.
Eshraq Properties closed 0.94 per cent lower at Dh1.05. Methaq Takaful Insurance closed 2.97 per cent lower at Dh0.98. Out of a total of 26 firms, shares of 8 firms rose, while other 10 fell. The rest remained steady.
Positive outlook:
“The outlook is positive. We have continuation of strong global performance, we have a stronger oil too, and that is increasing risk appetite across equity markets. The are seeing a spill over in the regional market here in the UAE as one of the most defensive markets in terms of performance,” Shurrab added.
The Dubai Financial Market General index gained 12 per cent, making it the best performer in the region.
“The beginning of the year is the positioning time on dividend yields. We will see movement on the dividend distributing companies and expectations are we would see more flows going into blue chips rather than trading stocks going into first quarter,” he added.
Most of the small stocks like Gulf Finance House, Gulf Navigation, Eshraq Properties have been outperforming the index, registering a more than 200 per cent gains.
The Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul index closed 0.73 per cent lower at 7,198.11.
“Saudi’s Tadawul is holding above the 7,200 levels, and that is something positive. The recovery in oil prices has helped sentiment and currently we are seeing consolidation, and we expect that to continue,” Shurrab said.
Elsewhere in the Gulf, the Qatar exchange index closed 0.84 per cent higher at 10,688.78.
