Aldar Properties rebounded from a sharp decline over the past two days in the wake of the announcement of its merger with Sorouh Real Estate, on the open of the last full day of trading before a market holiday on Thursday.
Stocks in the Abu Dhabi developer, which built many of the emirate's high profile properties including the Ferrari World theme park and the F1 Circuit, rose 2.2 per cent to Dh1.39 each in early trading.
Aldar shares fell 16.5 per cent in the previous two sessions following the announcement of the merger. Shares in Sorouh rose 2.4 per cent to Dh1.69 each.
The two developers led gains for the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index, which rose 0.3 per cent to 2,764.31. Etisalat and First Gulf Bank were the biggest movers on the capital's index.
The Dubai Financial Market General Index fell 0.2 per cent to 1,772.34, with Aramex and Emirates NBD leading declines.
Asian markets fell after the Bank of Japan committed to a 2 per cent inflation target but stopped short of outlining any stimulus measures. The Nikkei 225 fell 2 per cent to 10,470.00 while the Hang Seng Index slid 0.1 per cent at 23,625.00.
Oil prices slid, with Brent crude futures falling 22 cents to $114.56 per barrel.
