Dubai equities rallied for the second consecutive day yesterday as the market’s benchmark edged up 0.75 per cent, led by DXB Entertainments.
The amusement park operator gained 3.8 per cent to close at Dh1.34. The company opened its third theme park, Motiongate, on December 17.
Shares in Amanat, which invests in the healthcare and education sectors, were up by 1.1 per cent on heavy volume of 150.1 million shares.
The Dubai index, with a year-to-date gain of 12.7 per cent, is on track for its best year since 2013, when it rose 107.6 per cent.
Abu Dhabi’s index rose by 0.4 per cent with Al Wathba National Insurance leading the market with a 14.9 per cent gain in thin trade. It was only the third day this month on which the insurer’s shares have traded. Etisalat closed unchanged from Sunday when it said it ended a management agreement with its Saudi affiliate Mobily.
The Abu Dhabi index is up 3.4 per cent this year after falling 4.8 per cent last year.
In Saudi Arabia, the Tadawul dipped by 0.3 per cent after the government announced a spending rise for next year in last week’s budget. The Saudi government announced an 890 billion riyal (Dh897.6bn) budget for 2017, compared with 840bn riyal spending for the current year.
“Market performance [next year] will increasingly depend on regulatory changes that may be announced, such as remittance tax, increase in municipal fees and subsidy reduction, and to a lesser degree on oil movement,” said Nayal Khan, the head of institutional equities sales at Saudi Fransi Capital in Riyadh. “Business confidence is still weak [and] companies are uncertain to commit new capital deployment.”
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