Dubai bourse bouyed by global tide of optimism

Markets Update: Dubai's markets leap on the open after governments act to avert a second financial crisis and signs emerge that the American economy is moving once more.

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Dubai's market leapt on the open as traders caught up on a raft of good news from around the world, released while local markets were closed to mark National Day and the Islamic New Year.

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The Dubai Financial Market General Index rose 0.8 per cent to 1,390.65, while the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index was flat at 2,446.15.

The gains followed a 1 per cent bounce in the Saudi Tadawul All Share Index yesterday, which boosted the kingdom's index to 6,169.60.

Real estate developers lead the charge on Dubai's market, with Emaar Properties, Arabtec Holding and Drake & Scull International leading gains.

Shares in the Dubai Financial Market, the Gulf's only publicly listed exchange company, rose 1.8 per cent to 97.8 fils each after Standard and Poor's said it would launch an index of blue-chip stocks in Arab countries.

Markets were cheered as six central banks took co-ordinated action on Wednesday and the eurozone's sovereign debt impasse appeared to be reaching a resolution, as Germany's finance minister laid a roadmap for the 17-nation currency bloc to ease its debt crisis.

Positive employment data from the US pushed the S&P 500 to its best weekly gains since March 2009, though American stocks retreated slightly on Friday.

Elsewhere in the region, Qatar's market extended gains from last week, with the QE Index rising 0.2 per cent to 8,683.57.