Traders at Dubai Financial Market (DFM)
Traders at Dubai Financial Market (DFM). Image Credit: Virendra Saklani/Gulf News Archives

Dubai: The main index on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) rose on Monday on the back of gains by top lender Emirates NBD and budget carrier Air Arabia.

The DFM index closed 0.3 per cent up at 2,736 points, while Abu Dhabi’s ADX ended 0.2 per cent higher at 5,038 points.

Dubai’s benchmark index rose for a fifth straight session after top lender Emirates NBD gained 1.6 per cent, prompting the banking benchmark to rise nearly 1 per cent.

Air Arabia gained 2.7 per cent, which pushed up the transport index, although it was unknown what caused the spike.

The Abu Dhabi index edged 0.2 per cent higher, with Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank adding 1.9 per cent and the country’s largest lender, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), up 0.1 per cent.

FAB said it had expanded its network in Saudi Arabia by opening a branch in Jeddah.

Saudi Arabia’s stock market rose 1 per cent, led by banking shares and Aramco, as the oil giant climbed 1.6 per cent for a fourth straight day since listing.