Property companies send local bourses higher this morning as investors take a bullish view on future dividend payments.
The Dubai Financial Market General Index was up 0.55 per cent to 1,663.29
Deyaar Development, which develops and manages real estate, made early gains of 5.58 per cent ahead of its next earnings announcement in April. Investors are hoping for a surprise following recent dividend issues by its peers.
Shares in Union Properties, a property management and interior design company, were also up in early trading, gaining 2.83 per cent.
The Abu Dhabi Securities Market General Index up 0.44 per cent to 2,586. The S&P Pan Arab was up 1.54 per cent to 696.34.
Brent crude oil futures were trading $2.05 down this morning at $123.31 a barrel.
It makes the third day in a row oil prices have slid, as expectations rise that oil demand growth in slowing economies such as Europe will be restricted this year.
Fears about supply security continue to support the price of oil – up 16 per cent on the year - as uncertainty about production from Iran, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen continues.
However European consumer and industrial confidence data out later today is expected to be weak, meaning oil futures may trade on the lower side during the European session.
The price of gold dropped almost 1 per cent, down $13.50 to $1,765 an ounce on the Forex Gold Index.
