UAE stock indexes rose yesterday, led by financial services and property stocks.
The Dubai benchmark index closed 2 per cent higher to 4,172.14, as the Bahraini investment firm Gulf Finance House climbed 15 per cent to Dh0.726. The company last week completed a capital reduction to US$598 million from $1.49 billion to reduce accumulated losses. The firm, which completed a similar move in November, last year posted an annual profit of $11m versus an $18m loss in 2013. Last year’s profit was the highest since 2008. GFH has also decided to de-list its global depositary receipts from the London bourse.
Shares of the property developer Damac rose 7 per cent to Dh3.32. The company announced yesterday that it has a development in Abu Dhabi’s Reem Island that is currently under approval and which will have a sale value of Dh1bn.
In Abu Dhabi, the index rose 0.7 per cent to 4,666.39, led by banking stocks.
Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, the fourth-largest lender by market value in the UAE, was up 2.2 per cent to Dh7.50. The government-controlled bank posted a 31 per cent jump in net profit attributable to equity shareholders to Dh1.24bn from Dh953.2m in the same period the previous year, boosted by record interest income, or the money the bank receives from giving out loans.
dalsaadi@thenational.ae
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