Dubai’s Emaar, Emirates NBD pushes Dubai’s DFM higher
Emaar-related stocks gain, DIB edges up after shareholders approve buy of Noor Bank
Dubai: The main index on the Dubai bourse spiked 1 per cent on Wednesday, on the back of gains from real estate heavyweight Emaar and top lender Emirates NBD.
The DFM index closed 29 points higher at 2,787 points, while Abu Dhabi’s ADX ended 0.7 per cent higher at 5,094 points.
Emaar Properties gained 2 per cent, which pushed the real estate benchmark that comprises of its peers, up 1.6 per cent. Emaar Development spiked 4.3 per cent.
The country’s biggest lender Emirates NBD rose 1.2 per cent, prompting gains in the main banking index, which rose 0.6 per cent.
Dubai Islamic Bank rose 0.4 per cent after saying it got shareholder approval for the acquisition of unlisted Dubai-based Noor Bank. The acquisition will make the UAE’s largest Sharia-compliant bank one of the top Islamic banks in the world, with total assets worth Dh74.87 billion.
In Abu Dhabi, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) added 1.2 per cent and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank gained 1 per cent.
In Saudi, the index ended 0.7 per cent higher, with National Commercial Bank and Riyad Bank gaining a day after shares slipped following the end of merger talks, adding 3.8 per cent and 1.7 per cent, respectively.