By: Thabet Shehata
Dubai – Mubasher: The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) concluded Thursday in the green, backed by the real estate sector on gains by Emaar Properties and Arabtec, in addition to the investment and telecom sectors.
The DFMGI leaped 2.35% or 83 points and closed at 3,614.7 points, its fifth straight rise.
UAE market performance is shaped by retail investors’ expectations and not financial indices or current companies’ performance, analysts told Mubasher.
The DFM’s gains were accompanied by a significant growth in liquidity compared to the previous session, as turnover surged to AED 839.2 million after 565.3 million shares changed hands against AED 253.5 million, with trade volume reaching AED 164.4 million shares.
Thursday’s session saw significant demand on blue chips, with good dividend distributions after these stocks retreated to low levels, said Abdulla Al-Hosani, general manager of Emirates NBD Securities.
UAE market gains came despite falling oil prices and continued geopolitical events, he told Mubasher via phone, meaning that the links between markets and external factors have declined significantly and that there is more focus on companies’ news than before.
The real estate sector leaped 4.46% as Emaar Properties and Arabtec surged by 6.3% and 5.24% to AED 7.060 and AED 2.410, respectively.
The investment second came in second with a 3.4% rise as Dubai Investments added 2.5% to AED 2.470, while DFM Company increased 5.3% to AED 1.590.
The telecom sector and its stock du grew 1.63%, with the stock reaching AED 4.980.
UAE markets have responded well to events in Yemen, said Al-Hosani, adding that markets no longer suffer negatively from falling oil prices.
Meanwhile, the banking sector closed the session in the red, inching down by 0.02% as Emirates NBD retreated 1.52%, overcoming 0.96% in gains achieved by Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB).
Al-Hosani told Mubasher that he expects UAE markets to continue their positive performance in the coming period amid an optimistic atmosphere in addition to awaiting large distributions. He excluded profit-taking at this point.
Translated by: Nada Adel Sobhi
