Dubai jumps as Emaar surges to 6-year high

Emaar yesterday gained 6.3% to 10.45 dirhams, the level last seen in May 2008.

Reuters/Dubai

Dubai’s bourse led gains in the Gulf yesterday as investors launched a fresh rally and shares in developer Emaar Properties surged to a six-year high.

Emaar gained 6.3% to 10.45 dirhams, the level last seen in May 2008, on increased volume and helped Dubai’s benchmark jump 3.3%, also the highest level since 2008.

Dubai’s largest-listed company launched a 66-storey residential tower in Downtown Dubai yesterday, and announced sales for the development would start simultaneously in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Singapore on May 10.

“I think the sentiment is very good and people have realised that the profit-taking we saw last week was short-lived,” said Sebastien Henin, head of asset management at The National Investor.

Dubai Islamic Bank also contributed to the uptick, rising 5.5% to extend gains that started on Thursday when the lender posted a doubling of first-quarter net profit.

The bank also said it was in talks to buy a 40% stake in an Indonesian Islamic lender.

Other property and banking stocks also rose yesterday.

Abu Dhabi’s banks, on the other hand, were mixed, leaving the index with a marginal gain of 0.04%. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank rose 2.6% while another large lender, First Gulf Bank, slid 1.2%.

Saudi Arabia’s main index rose 1.0%, lifted, just like in the previous session, by petrochemicals and cement makers, as well as banks.

Petrochemical stocks gained 1.3%, while cement makers rose 2.6% and banks added 1.1%.

The kingdom’s index has gained 14.3% this year, trailing markets in the UAE, Qatar, Egypt and Bahrain.

“Saudi Arabia has fallen behind other markets and may be catching up now,” said Henin from the National Investor.

Elsewhere in the Gulf, Kuwait’s index slipped 0.07% to 7,426 points; Bahrain’s measure rose 0.9% to 1,440 points, while Oman’s benchmark climbed 0.3% to 6,764 points.