The Dubai ports operator DP World shone yesterday after completing a shares consolidation ahead of a planned listing in London.
The consolidation gave investors one new share in exchange for every 20 they previously owned, boosting the stock price by 20 times.
The company said the move would give it an earnings-per-share ratio that better reflected the value of the company. DP World plans to launch an additional listing for its shares on the London Stock Exchange this year.
After the consolidation, shares rose 1.4 per cent to Dh15.07 on the Nasdaq Dubai exchange.
Shares on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) declined on the lacklustre volumes that have been a trend for most of the week.
"There is some quietness on the local bourses with very little selling," said Tarek Lotfy, a managing director of Arqaam Capital in Dubai.
The mortgage provider Tamweel retreated 0.3 per cent to 97 fils after two days of healthy gains. Emaar Properties was down 0.9 per cent at Dh3.17. The DFM General Index lost 0.4 per cent to 1,583.01 points.
The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index was down 0.1 per cent at 2,654.82. Methaq Takaful Insurance saw the highest volumes, dropping 7.6 per cent to Dh1.93.
Elsewhere in the region: Kuwait's index lost 0.2 per cent to 6,475.50; Bahrain's measure declined 0.2 per cent to 1,371.65; Oman's index rose 0.2 per cent to 6,048.33; and Qatar's benchmark added 0.2 per cent to 8,636.79. The Saudi Tadawul was closed for the day.
