Despite falling crude, UAE stocks up again
DFM index rose as much as 2% in trade, maintaining a rally sparked by recent comments of possible merger with Abu Dhabi index
Dubai: UAE stocks extended gains on Sunday led by blue chips, despite falling crude oil prices last week. The Doha index, however, ended lower.
The Dubai Financial Market General Index ended up 2.74 per cent at 3,774.86, after hitting a high of 3,784.29, a level last seen on January 4.
“This may be reaction to the fact that UAE and Saudi were the worst performing market towards the end of the year and also few sessions in 2015. This recovery may not be sustainable going forward,” Sanyalaksna Manibhandu, manager of research at the National Bank of Abu Dhabi Securities, told Gulf News.
“We didn’t see any improvement on fundamental point of view. It must be short-term tactics on the part of the traders,” he added.
DFM shares continued to rally, ending the trade 6.70 per cent at Dh2.070, after the economy minister’s comments on the possibility of a merger with Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange. Talks of merger have been in news since 2010, but have not yet seen the light of the day.
Confidence
Emaar Properties also ended 5.76 per cent higher at Dh7.350.
“[The] Dubai market gained confidence as Emaar jumped in trade,” said Manibhandu. Emirates NBD also closed 4.82 per cent higher at Dh8.7.
Arabtec, which ended 2.07 per cent higher, and Emaar Properties were the most active stocks in terms of value.
Crude oil fell more than a per cent to hover near the keenly-watched $50 (Dh183.6) a barrel mark. Brent for February decreased 19 cents to $50.96 a barrel, the lowest close since April 2009.
Crude has dropped by more than half since June as US output surged and the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) decided to maintain its production ceiling.
The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange ended 0.03 per cent higher at 4,480.06. Manazel Real Estate ended 4.48 per cent higher at Dh0.70, while Aldar Properties closed 2.86 per cent higher at Dh2.52.
Qatar falls
Qatar index registered the biggest drop in a month after Industries Qatar declared a lower than expected dividend.
“The fall in Doha has to do with [a] specific factor. Markets fell due to Industries Qatar. The company declared a dividend cut, which was unexpected so that is leading the markets lower,” Manibhandu said.
Industries Qatar recommended a dividend of 7 riyals per share for 2014, compared to 11 riyals in 2013. The company has the second-biggest weighting on Doha’s benchmark index, which is the biggest gainer in the GCC so far in the month followed by Dubai.
Elsewhere in the Gulf, the Muscat Securities MSM 30 index ended 2.39 per cent higher at 6,403.16, while Kuwait Stock Exchange Index ended 1.11 per cent higher at 6,562.98.
Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index advanced more than 1 per cent.
