Early results power gain

Five banks in the region perform better than the first quarter

Emaar Properties moved up 1.5 per cent to Dh3.27. Amy Leang / he National

A positive global backdrop and a trickle of encouraging earnings reports lifted the region's bourses yesterday. Strong oil prices, a Wall Street rally last week and early results from regional banks were seen as positives. "Five banks in the region have given their second-quarter results so far, performing better than the first quarter, which is excellent news for the region and for the sector," said Alfred Fayek, the managing director of MENA equity sales at EFG-Hermes in Dubai. The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) General Index climbed by 0.4 per cent to 1,506.27, even though some problems were reported with the bourse's integration with NASDAQ Dubai.

Volumes were thin. The bourse's own shares moved up by 1.3 per cent to Dh1.50. Emaar Properties rose 1.5 per cent to Dh3.27 and Deyaar Development, another Dubai developer, fell less than 0.5 per cent to 32 fils. Arabtec Holding shares remained unchanged after the contractor's chief executive confirmed receipt of a 40 per cent payment from Nakheel. The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index was largely unchanged at 2,527.10. Dana Gas and Aldar Properties featured the highest volumes but finished largely unchanged at 71 fils and Dh2.70 respectively. Elsewhere in the region, Qatar's index climbed 1.1 per cent to 6,991.66. Oman's bourse rose 0.3 per cent to 6,254.72, and Bahrain inched up 0.1 per cent to 1,368.56. Kuwait was closed for the day.

The Saudi Tadawul All-Share Index advanced 0.6 per cent to 6,241.10. [e-mail]