Dubai Financial Market edges up, Abu Dhabi retreats after prior-day gains

Dubai: Dubai bourse’s main index edged higher on Sunday, as gains from Emirates NBD helped push blue-chips banking stocks higher, offsetting losses among real estate developers and insurers.

The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) index closed up 4 points or 0.1 per cent at 2,705.38, while Abu Dhabi’s ADX dropped 1.5 per cent 5,060.63, retreating after gaining 1.4 per cent at Thursday’s close.

The top gainer on the Dubai index was Emirates NBD, which rose for a second straight day and closed up 4.7 per cent. Dubai’s top lender said late last week it sold off some more shares in Middle East-focused payments processor Network International.

However, index gains were capped by declines in real estate, with the index shedding 1.2 per cent.

Also, Dubai-listed contractor Arabtec Holdings dived 9.6 per cent to its lowest in six months. It earlier posted a third-quarter loss of Dh437 million, compared to a year-ago profit of Dh67.6 million.

In Saudi Arabia, the benchmark index edged 0.4 per cent lower, with its top petrochemical maker Saudi Basic Industries declining 1.3 per cent and Saudi Telecom slipping 1.2 per cent.