Arabtec on the up as Etisalat slips a little

Arabtec, the contractor that helped build the Burj Khalifa, led momentum on the Dubai stock exchange as the developer rose to its highest point in two months.

Shares in the emirate's largest builder by market value gained almost 3 per cent to Dh1.39 as more than 17 million shares changed hands, making it the most heavily traded stock in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Analysts said the sharp rise may be down to a premature build-up before the release of second-quarter results, expected to be announced in the first week of next month.

"It could be that they are about to announce a major contract but we have no visibility on this," said Loic Pelichet, an analyst at National Bank of Kuwait.

"We're not expecting any news for a few weeks, especially as the results are three weeks away."

The Dubai Financial Market General Index rose 0.6 per cent to 1,567.12 points, while the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) General Index added 0.3 per cent to 2,721.77 points.

Etisalat, the telecommunications giant, fell to its lowest point in almost three weeks yesterday morning after it emerged its Indian unit faced a US$1.6 billion fine for an alleged foreign exchange scam.

The company fell 0.5 per cent to Dh10.85 on the ADX as India's enforcement directorate, which polices foreign exchange anti-money laundering policies, imposed a 70bn rupee fine on Etisalat DB Telecom India for various charges it claimed violated the country's Foreign Exchange Management Act 1999.

fhalime@thenational.ae