Drake & Scull hits 15-month shares high

CLOSING BELL: A spirited start to the first day of trading this year pushed shares in Drake & Scull International to a 15-month high.

Drake & Scull International soared to a 15-month high as investors were bullish on the first day of trading this year.

The engineering and contracting company gained 5.7 per cent to Dh1.10, one of the top risers on the Dubai index and the most actively traded stock by volume as 34.4 million changed hands.

"DSI should retest its all time high at 1.22 during the first quarter, with a 60 per cent chance to advance to Dh1.35," said Amjad Bakir, a fund manager at Wafa Financial Services in Abu Dhabi.

He said he expects the share price to hit a new all-time high quickly if it remains above the Dh1-mark all of January.

Other real estate stocks across the UAE climbed to new highs as investors bought into positions in the heavyweight sector.

Property bellwether Emaar Properties rose 0.8 per cent to Dh3.58, the highest point for nearly three weeks, while Arabtec was one of the most actively traded stocks by volume with nearly 25 million shares changing hands.

The building contractor jumped 3.5 per cent to Dh2.04, the most since 9th December.

Shares in Aldar Properties also reflected a spirited start to 2011 as the heavyweight stock climbed 2.2 per cent to Dh2.33, a 13 December peak on the Abu Dhabi index. It was one of the top gainers of the day and over 12.7 million shares were actively traded on the stock.

Sorouh Real Estate rose 1.2 per cent to Dh1.65 and RAK Properties increased 2.3 per cent to 45 fils.

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange gained 0.8 per cent to 2,741.15 points and the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) General Index climbed 2.3 per cent to 1,668.27 points, the most in three weeks.

Elsewhere in the region; Qatar rose 0.7 per cent to 8,741.50 points; Oman ticked 0.7 per cent higher to 6,805.77 points; Kuwait slipped 0.1 per cent to 6,955.50 points; Bahrain increased 0.3 per cent to 1,432.26 points and the Saudi Tadawul moved 0.07 per cent lower to 6,649.99 points.