Shares in Air Arabia were flying high yesterday on speculation the company will maintain a good dividend payout this year.
It closed up 0.36 per cent to 84 fils, one of the only stocks to rise in Dubai, and extended a winning streak that has pushed it up 3.08 per cent in the past three days.
"Investors will be keen to see whether the company can maintain its dividend payout level," said Scott Darling, an analyst at Nomura. He added some felt the company's fleet expansion would lead to a lower dividend than the 20 per cent the airline paid last year.
In Abu Dhabi, Aldar Properties continued its volatile performance on the capital's exchange, falling 2.86 per cent to Dh2.04. That came after notching up its highest gain in more than a month on Tuesday.
The developer said in a statement on the Abu Dhabi bourse that it had no plans to delist its stock after investors asked for clarification of its capital raising plans.
The company added that the asset sales would not include its Yas Hotel development.
The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index rose 0.13 per cent to 2,676.14 points.
The Dubai Financial Market General Index lost 0.21 per cent up to 1,618.92 points, losing some of its gains from earlier in the week.
Markets elsewhere in the region were in negative territory: Kuwait closed 0.04 per cent to 6,915.50 points; Bahrain slipped 0.05 per cent to 1,425.11 points; Oman retreated 0.23 per cent to 6,989.78 points; and Qatar dropped 1.29 per cent to 9,081.48 points.
The Saudi Tadawul All-Share Index lost 1.13 per cent to 6,639.72 points.
