By: Mahmoud Gamal

Dubai-Mubasher: The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) saw gains on Thursday, amid the rise of blue chips led by Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) and Emaar Properties.

The benchmark index rose 1.36% or 48.02 points to reach 3,572.44 points.

The investment sector was the best performer after adding 3.8% as DFM Company and Dubai Investment advanced 6.1% and 3.6% respectively. Likewise, the banks sector went up 1.7% as Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) gained 4.28%.

The real estate sector grew 1.6% after Emaar Properties rose 2.9% to AED 7.3.

On the flipside, the consumer staples sector fell 4.4% as Dubai Parks and Resorts retreated 4.6%. In addition, the transportation sector went down 2.6% after Aramex slid 1.8%.

Turnover grew 68% to AED 2.38 billion on Thursday, compared to AED 1.42 billion on Wednesday. Trading volume stood at 1.46 billion shares, compared to 943.94 million shares.

The market saw weekly gains as portfolio investors tended to make use of blue chips topped by DIB and Emaar which reached attractive price levels, capital market analyst Amen Al- Henawi.

Liquidity recovered, however investors are reluctant to buy shares as the annual holiday season did not end yet, the analyst noted.

Al- Henawi expected the main index to break above 3,600 points amid higher oil prices.

Translated by: Julian Nabil