Dubai stocks advanced for a fourth straight session riding on an earnings-driven rally while Abu Dhabi stocks headed marginally lower before the Eid holidays. Saudi Arabian shares moved up, ending three days of trading in red.
Dubai Financial Market clawed back intra-day losses as banking and real estate shares rebounded to help the index close higher by 0.4 per cent to 2,696 points. Monday's advance marked the gauge's sixth rise in the last seven sessions after upbeat first-quarter results set off the series of gains.
The biggest single boost came in from Emirates NBD, gaining above 1 per cent, while Union Properties and Gulf Navigation moved up ahead of earning announcements.
Profits fall at slower pace
Emaar Malls ticked 1.5 per cent up after the firm's top- and bottom-line numbers dropped at a slower pace than they did in 2020. The first-quarter profits shrank by around 16 per cent while revenues posted a 11 per cent dip. This compares to a 69- and 25 per cent plunge it had reported for 2020.
Emaar Development slipped into the red as investors traded cautiously. After the market closed, it reported a 20 per cent spike in profits to Dh781 million, whereas revenues surged by 26 per cent to Dh3.85 billion. The developer also posted a two-fold jump in property sales, which it credited to recovery for the wider real estate market.
Lenders weigh in
Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange edged 0.1 per cent lower to 6,209 points in what was its second negative performance in the last seven trading days. Banking stocks weighed on the Monday's trade with First Abu Dhabi Bank, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and Bank of Sharjah heading lower.
Gulf Pharmaceutical Industries shed over 1 per cent as it continued languishing in loss-making territory by reporting Dh24 million in first quarter losses, though they narrowed down compared to Dh62.5 million a year ago. The firm is still trading up 17 per cent for the year in part as it chalked out hefty gains in late March after securing a vaccine production deal as part of the China-UAE cooperation agreement.
End to bad days
Saudi Arabia's benchmark index edged 0.9 per cent higher to 10,323 points rebounding from three days of consecutive losses. The index has been trading on the backfoot, having advanced in just two of the last eight sessions. The banking and petrochemical stocks came in support of the index as investors looked for bargains.
