UAE markets posted gains this week as investors left the Saudi Arabian and Egyptian markets to buy back into the Emirates.
The Dubai Financial Market General Index closed up 2.3 per cent on Thursday at 3,614.70. The index climbed 6 per cent for the week.
The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index closed up 0.9 per cent at 4.538.72 for a gain of 3.7 per cent on the week. The gain means the index is now in positive territory for the year, up 0.2 per cent since January 1.
“By the end of March we saw some buying in the UAE markets,” said Sanyalaksna Manibhandu, the manager of research at NBAD securities. “One reason is over the course of the first quarter, the DFM and ADX did much worse than the Saudi market and Egypt, so maybe you saw some investors selling out in Saudi and buying into the UAE market.”
Mr Manibhandu said money was going into the kingdom in the past quarter on expectations the market would open up to foreign investors. Investors had also been buying in Egypt following the recent investment conference at Sharm El Sheikh.
While these factors helped Egypt and Saudi Arabia do well in the first quarter, some investors thought towards the end that those markets had risen far enough and put money back into the UAE, said Mr Manibhandu.
Leading the DFM market was the developer Emaar, which rose 6.3 per cent to Dh7.06. The developer Damac also contributed, up 7.6 per cent at Dh2.24.
In Abu Dhabi, banks led the gains. FGB closed 1.7 per cent up at Dh14.80. National Bank of Abu Dhabi was up 3.8 per cent at Dh12.25.
selgazzar@thenational.ae
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