Dubai: UAE equity market traders are gung-ho on the historic partnership with China, boosting the Dubai index.
The first among local companies to sign a deal was Emaar Properties, which bagged a $11.5 billion (Dh42.21 billion) project with an airport in Beijing. Adnoc also signed an agreement with China National Offshore Oil corporation (CNOOC).
“The UAE-China partnership seems to have fired up the real estate stocks. The Emaar pack of three, languishing for long are seeing investor interest. Aldar upped the guidance based on the project award from the government and we think near term upside could be limited from here,” Vrajesh Bhandari, senior portfolio manager with Al Mal Capital, said.
Emaar Properties jumped to its highest level since April 15. Emaar Properties rose as much as to end at day’s high of Dh5.15, up 4.89 per cent. Emaar Malls closed 4.57 per cent higher at Dh5.15. Emaar Development closed 2.47 per cent higher at Dh4.56.
The Dubai Financial Market general index surged more than 2 per cent — its maximum one day gain since May 14 — to see its highest close since October 2018.
The DFM General Index closed 2.08 per cent higher at 2,832.53. Traded value jumped to Dh385 million, the highest since May 20 and Emaar Properties contributed to 22 per cent of the total. The Dubai index witnessed a turnaround after it breached its 50-day technical resistance of 2,670 and since then it has been on an upmove. The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange general index closed 0.85 per cent higher at 5,343.86.
Aldar Properties rose as much as Dh2.34, the highest since March 27.
Aldar Properties closed 5.96 per cent higher at Dh2.31. Aldar Properties has been witnessing outperformance compared to other stocks on UAE bourses and has rallied 42 per cent in 42 days. Etisalat shares ended 1.6 per cent higher at Dh17.76 after the company posted flat net profit.
“We see Etisalat’s results as stable — Revenues were marginally lower due to forex movements in International markets, however costs were curtailed to result in 2 per cent EBITDA growth. A positive is the decline in Capex which implies higher free cash flow for shareholders,” Bhandari said.
Etisalat shares have gained 17 per cent in the past 46 days. First Abu Dhabi Bank closed flat at Dh16.
Elsewhere in Saudi Arabia, the Tadawul index diverged from its peers in the UAE. The Tadawul index closed more than 1 per cent lower at 8,796.06.
The MSCI Tadawul 30 Index closed 1.45 per cent lower at 1,281.52. The Muscat MSM 30 index closed 0.18 per cent lower at 3,763.59.
