Bluechips lift Dubai stocks; most Gulf markets upbeat

Reuters/Dubai Dubai bluechips rose yesterday, although the wider index remains range-bound below a key psychological level, while most other Gulf Arab markets also advanced. Dubai’s Emaar Properties climbed 3.4% to a 52-month high. Investor confidence remains upbeat in Emaar, despite fourth-quarter earnings missing estimates, as property prices in the emirate slowly recover. Telecom operator du rose 4.7% to 4.69 dirhams, its highest close since October 2008. Du’s fourth-quarter profit more than doubled as it wrote back tax provisions and its subscriber base rose. Arabtec tumbled 9.7%, its lowest price since January 3, as investors continue to react negatively to the shake-up announced by the developer last week. Dubai’s measure advanced 0.4% to 1,936 points. It has been trading in a tight range just below 2,000 points since hitting a 39-month high on February 24. In the UAE capital, the Abu Dhabi index declined for a second session, with traders targeting small-cap stocks - a pattern usually seen in a market lacking catalysts. The benchmark declined 0.3% to 3,037 points. Saudi Arabia’s index gave back gains from the previous two sessions as bluechips weighed. Banks were the main drag. SABB slipped 1.8%, while Banque Saudi Fransi and Samba Financial Group both fell 0.7%. Of the 13 largest stocks on the bourse, ten ended the session lower and the other three were flat. Meanwhile, Egypt’s benchmark closed 0.2% higher, snapping a five-session losing streak. In Kuwait, the index extended recent gains, climbing 0.2% to its highest close since May 2012. Shares have rallied after Kuwait indicated it would restart long-delayed infrastructure projects. In Oman, the benchmark climbed 0.2%, taking its year-to-date gains to 3.5%. Bahrain’s index reversed the previous session’s loss, gaining 0.7%, although the number of shares changing hands was at its lowest level in 2013.