Shares in Aldar Properties, Abu Dhabi's largest developer, rose yesterday for the second consecutive session, based on rumours of a coming government announcement. The stock jumped 1.7 per cent to Dh2.33 as more than 15 million shares were traded yesterday, extending its gains from Thursday when it surged by 4.5 per cent. "Rumours really fuelled the jump," said Saad al Chalabi, an institutional trader at AlRamz Securities based in Abu Dhabi.
Foreign buying of property stocks had also accelerated in the past four days, Mr al Chalabi said. The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index moved 0.3 per cent higher to 2,508.52, outperforming the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) General Index, which finished flat at 1,496.20. Poor volumes were attributed to the DFM's typically slow Sundays, brokers said. The bourse had a total traded value of Dh45.7m yesterday, on 28.5 million shares traded.
The four top-traded companies on the DFM saw less than 20 million shares change hands. Emirates NBD, Dubai's biggest lender, fell 0.8 per cent on 70,000 shares traded early in the session. "Emirates NBD's drop early in the day put pressure on the index, making it difficult for markets to reverse in direction," Mr al Chalabi said. Elsewhere in the region: Kuwait's index moved up 0.3 per cent to 6,665.60; Bahrain dropped 0.1 per cent to 1,431.28; Oman was unchanged at 6,270.49; and Qatar added 0.4 per cent to close at 7,195.88.
The Saudi Tadawul All-Share Index closed 0.5 per cent up at 6,085.67. halsayegh@thenational.ae
