Tabreed shares run red-hot in Dubai

Tabreed, the district cooling company, lifted the Dubai Financial Market yesterday amid speculation from retail investors.

Tabreed's shares jumped 14.7 per cent to close at Dh1.48, the highest level in nine months. About 117.5 million shares changed hands, accounting for about a fifth of the total shares traded on the broader market.

"The bulk of the trades were from local retail investors," said Anastasios Dalgiannakis, the head of institutional trading at Mubasher Financial Services in Dubai.

Investors have piled money into Tabreed's shares, which are yet to play catch-up among leading property and construction stocks that have rallied of late.

"The performance is not unprecedented," said Mr Dalgiannakis.

Tabreed experienced a similar rally in the same period last year, trading from a low of 40 fils to a high of Dh2.13 at the start of March.

The DFM General Index advanced 1 per cent to close at 1,745.17 points, the highest close since March 5.

Elsewhere, Qatar's index gained 0.4 per cent to 8,693.8, its highest close since April 30.

"Qatar will continue to focus on fourth-quarter results and any change in the dividend announcements - if there is any positive surprise, I would expect it to make up the lag it had," said Marwan Shurrab, the chief trader at Gulfmena Investments.

Doha's market fell 4.8 per cent last year, following three years of gains. It was among the worst-performing markets in the region as investors were disappointed with dividends and with slow progress over infrastructure projects as the country prepares to host the Fifa World Cup in 2022.

halsayegh@thenational.ae

* with Reuters