Dubai led regional markets yesterday with the property and ports sectors delivering the biggest gains.
It comes after oil capped its biggest week since 2009 as Brent crude closed at US$54.46 on Friday after starting the week at $48.24 following the decision by Opec to cut production.
The DFM General Index rose 1.67 per cent, led by index heavyweight Emaar Properties, which rose by more than 3 per cent after Al Khaleej reported it had signed an insurance settlement of Dh1.2 billion for the blaze that engulfed its Downtown hotel on New Year’s Eve.
Emaar did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Also in the property sector Union Properties surged 10.5 per cent as retail investors targeted small caps. Damac Properties, the developer behind Dubai’s Akoya project, gained 2.27 per cent.
“Oil climbed 15 per cent last week and that has a strong impact on investor sentiment, while the news on Emaar’s settlement for the Address hotel fire” is good for the stock, Tariq Qaqish, the managing director for asset management at Al Mal Capital told Bloomberg.
DP World, the operator of Dubai’s Jebel Ali Port, rose 9.5 per cent on Nasdaq Dubai, or the most in almost a year after establishing a US$3.8 billion joint venture with Canada’s Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec.
Elsewhere in the region, Abu Dhabi shares fell 1.09 per cent while Bahrain’s measure also retreated 0.15 per cent and Kuwait lost 0.25 per cent. Oman shares gained 0.36 per cent while Qatar also advanced 0.97 per cent. Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul index closed 0.52 per cent higher.
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