Dragon Oil of Dubai is breathing fire

Shares in Dragon Oil, an exploration company in Dubai, rose to a two-month high after announcing a 30 per cent increase in daily production last year.

The company's Dublin-listed shares rose 2 per cent to €6.07 each, despite worries of securing a sales agreement with the government of Turkmenistan. Dragon Oil is expected to announce its financial results next month.

The UAE's exchanges rose, with the Dubai Financial Market General Index gaining 0.4 per cent to 1,340.70, while the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index climbed 0.5 per cent to 2,352.74.

Local markets reported a strong session, driven by increased trading activity, said Marwan Shurrab, the chief trader at Gulfmena Alternative Investments.

"We saw the return of turnover across the board," he said. "Arabtec in Dubai managed to rally on strong sentiment in the retail segment of investors piling in. In Abu Dhabi, the focus was mainly on the banking sector and banks about to announce earnings before the end of this month."

National Bank of Abu Dhabi rose the most in a month after the capital's biggest bank said it had hired a specialist in mergers and acquisitions.

The lender said it had hired Michael Aissaoui, the former regional head of mergers and acquisitions at Société Générale.

The bank's stocks rose 2.3 per cent to Dh10.70 each in trading.

Gains at Arabtec, Air Arabia and Union Properties pushed Dubai's market upwards.

Crude prices rose after European leaders meeting in Brussels agreed on the details of an oil embargo against Iran. Brent futures gained 63 cents to US$110.26. Qatar and Kuwait fell, while markets in Saudi Arabia and Oman made muted gains.

ghunter@thenational.ae