Dubai shares extended gains for a sixth consecutive day yesterday, thanks to gains by Emaar Properties. Other markets in the Arabian Gulf also rose in line with their global peers.
The emirate’s headline index gained 1.3 per cent at 3,437.51, its highest close since early May, with just two stocks ending in the red. The winning streak, during which time the index has gained more than 5 per cent, is the longest string of consecutive gains since April last year.
Emaar rose by 2.4 per cent for its best one-day gain in five weeks, after the developer said it had no plans to increase its stake in its Indian joint venture Emaar MGF.
Dubai Parks and Resorts and DIB were among the other big-name winners, gaining 2.5 per cent and 1.3 per cent respectively.
In the capital, the Abu Dhabi index squeezed out its first positive gain of the week, even as FGB, the index’s heaviest weighted stock, fell by 1.1 per cent. The index closed up by 0.05 per cent at 4,542.74, thanks to gains from Aldar, NBAD and ADIB.
Equities closed higher throughout the Arabian Gulf region, as crude oil prices recovered ground and global equity markets rose on the prospect of stimulus measures in major economies including the UK and Japan.
The Bahrain Bourse All Share Index led gains across the region, closing up by 0.8 per cent, while Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul closed up 0.84 per cent. Shares in Egypt, however, finished 0.67 per cent lower, after the country’s central bank confounded expectations that it would devalue the Egyptian pound.
jeverington@thenational.ae
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