Dubai shares yesterday rose the highest since June, buoyed by improved sentiment on global growth and the approaching Eid al Fitr holiday. The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) General Index added 2.6 per cent to close at 1,538.09. In the US, stronger employment data than expected pushed all three major stock exchanges up more than 1 per cent over the weekend, which brokers say lifted the Dubai index.
"Global markets had an influence on local trading," said Hassan el Salah, the head of institutional trading at AlRamz Securities in Abu Dhabi. But the DFM saw shares valued at onlyUS$56.5 million change hands, little different from the value of the low volumes seen over the past month. Emaar Properties, Dubai's largest listed developer, surged 5.4 per cent to close at Dh3.50. Arabtec Holding climbed 4.2 per cent to Dh1.62, while the bourse's shares, traded as DFM Company, gained 4.8 per cent to Dh1.52.
"As stock prices started seeing movement we saw momentum traders jumping in," Mr el Salah said. "Traders want to take advantage of the historical leap witnessed in previous years on the last week of Ramadan." The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index added 0.5 per cent to 2,507.26. Dana Gas shares added 1.3 per cent to 78 fils. Elsewhere in the region: Kuwait's measure added 0.1 per cent to 6,711.50; Bahrain's index dropped 0.3 per cent to 1,414.82; Oman gained 0.2 per cent to 6,277.05; and Qatar's index added 2.2 per cent to 7,470.79. The Saudi Tadawul All-Share Index lost less than 0.1 per cent to finish at 6,269.36.
halsayegh@thenational.ae
