UAE bourses see buying as DFM stays above support zone

Dubai: Traders picked up bargains after the DFM index stayed above the critical support zone, amid heavy buying in Union Properties, Amanat and Drake and Scull.

The Dubai Financial Market General Index closed 0.73 per cent higher at 3,370.07. Union Properties (UPP) witnessed robust activity ahead of its unit IPO. UPP closed 1.67 per cent higher at Dh0.975. Shares worth Dh65 million was traded on the name.

“Break over the immediate resistance at Dh0.966 in UPP shall extend gains towards the Dh1.03/1.08 resistance level,” said Shiv Prakash, senior analyst with First Abu Dhabi Bank Securities.

Drake and Scull closed 2.73 per cent higher at Dh2.26, and saw 81 million shares getting traded, making it the most active stock on the bourse.

Emaar Properties closed 2.36 per cent higher at Dh6.94.

“Emaar held the Dh6.75 support for another session but is nowhere near a buy signal, speculators could take the opportunity and take it a few fils higher,” Hisham Khairy, head of institutional trading at Menacorp said.

In other stocks, Deyaar closed 0.81 per cent lower at Dh0.490, while Gulf Finance House (GFH) closed at Dh1.50, down 3.85 per cent.

“GFH tested again support at Dh1.53 which held the past 4 sessions, a lot of rumours flying around about the stock being aggressively lifted to the Dh1.80 but performance showing the opposite,” Khairy said.

High volumes

ADX witnessed its highest volumes since September as the index closed above the 50 day moving average. The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange general index closed 0.66 higher at 4,398.44, with traded value placed at Dh265 million. Waha Capital closed 1.08 per cent higher at Dh1.87.

“Waha Capital closed bullish over the sideways congestion, headed towards the Dh2.20 in the short term,” said Prakash.

Etisalat closed more than 2.5 per cent higher at Dh17.50.

In other Gulf markets, Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul index closed 0.28 per cent higher at 7,221.37.

The Qatar exchange index closed 0.30 per cent higher at 8,526. The Muscat MSM 30 index closed 0.13 per cent higher at 5,047.14. The Kuwait Stock Exchange index closed 0.58 per cent higher at 6,408.01.

The Bahrain bourse all share index closed 0.85 per cent higher at 1,306.03.

Factbox: Markets closed

Markets will be shut on Sunday and Monday due to the New Year. Trading will resume on Tuesday or January 2.