Dubai's bourse rose, led by Arabtec Holding, amid investor optimism that the builder will benefit from upcoming contracts in Abu Dhabi.
Arabtec rose 3.2 per cent to Dh3.51 at 11am, with 37.3 million shares changing hands. State controlled fund Aabar Investmentson Sunday awarded Arabtec with a Dh222 million contract to build a residential tower in Abu Dhabi, only weeks after it became the largest shareholder in the company. Aabar has a 10.45 per cent stake in the company.
"People are now bullish on Arabtec," said Marwan Shurrab, the chief trader at Gulfmena Investments in Dubai. "Especially after Aabar bought a big chunk of the company."
Emaar Properties fell 0.9 per cent to trade at Dh3.26, after the region's biggest developer kept its dividend to shareholders at 10 fils per share at its annual general meeting yesterday. Investors were keen on a 15 fils per share dividend.
"Investors are not very enthusiastic, the dividend is priced in, many are waiting to see what the first quarter results will look like, before making investment decisions," Shurrab said.
The Dubai Financial Market General Index rose 0.3 per cent to 1645.40 points, while the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index was up 0.02 per cent to 2499.85 points.
Elsewhere in the region, Kuwait's measure added 0.1 per cent to 6337.10 points. Bahrain's index was unchanged at 1151.26 points. Oman's MSM 30 Index added 0.1 per cent to 5968.49 points. Qatar's QE Index declined 0.3 per cent to 8667.76 points.
The Saudi Tadawul All-Share Index was down 0.7 per cent to 7525.17 points yesterday.
halsayegh@thenational.ae
twitter: Follow and share our breaking business news. Follow us
