Dubai: The Dubai index ended a tad lower on Thursday led by Emaar as investors booked profits ahead of holidays. The Abu Dhabi index, meanwhile, ended higher.
The Dubai Financial Market General Index ended 0.21 per cent lower at 5,054.25, reversing from an intraday high of 5,113.93.
“People are taking some profits before the vacation period,” said Saleem Khokhar, head of equities at NBAD’s asset management group, adding, “The underlying is very solid, so we are positive for next month.”
Eid Al Adha holidays will start in early October.
On the index, out of a total of 36 shares traded on the exchange, shares of 14 companies declined, shares of only 12 rose, while shares of the remaining 10 companies stayed unchanged.
In Abu Dhabi, the general index ended 0.30 per cent higher at 5,127.60. Out of a total of 32 companies, shares of 16 companies rose, while 10 of them declined and the other 6 remained steady.
Emaar Properties, which was the most active stock in trade fell 0.85 per cent followed by Marka, which made a spectacular debut with a 59 per cent gain.
“The subscription levels are very high for Emaar Mall IPO. The IPO should do well next week,” said Khokhar. “We saw exceptional debut for Marka. There was a lot of interest shown by retail investment community,” he added.
Emaar Properties is seeking to raise up to Dh5.8 billion ($1.58 billion) by selling its stake in its mall unit through an initial public offering. The company will sell 2 billion shares or 15.4 per cent stake in the price range of Dh2.5-Dh2.9 per share.
The subscription for the retail investors ended on Wednesday for Emaar Mall’s IPO. Subscription for Institutional investors will end on September 26 although the company said the portion was oversubscribed just one day after the launch. The company will list on October 2 on the DFM.
