A rally in Emaar Properties PJSC, Dubai’s biggest listed real-estate company, has pushed the stock beyond a key level for the first time since 2017, testing sentiment among investors still wary about the health of the sector.
The shares had climbed 14 percent in February before Wednesday’s session, headed for the best month in three years. The gains have taken the stock beyond its 200-day moving average, a level it held for some five months the last time this happened.
Emaar Properties is seen as a bellwether for Dubai’s real-estate market. The recent recovery comes after a 40 per cent drop last year, the worst loss in a decade, as the stock was dragged lower by worries about an increase in supply at a time of falling demand in the emirate.
Emaar Properties’ rally has helped Dubai’s benchmark stocks gauge to bounce back from being the world’s worst performer in 2018. While some analysts and investors see further gains in store for the developer, thanks to attractively low valuations, others point to persistently weak fundamentals.
The stock was one percent lower as of 12:59 p.m. in Dubai.
