Shares in Emaar rose above Dh3.20 yesterday in a breakout of range that analysts said was an important indicator of future gains.
The Dubai property developer rose throughout the day to close up 2.83 per cent at Dh3.27. The last time Emaar's stock traded at that level was in late April last year.
"It is a decent move from Emaar. The Dh3.20 level has been broken in very decent volumes, which is very important, as it indicates [the stock] may be moving into the Dh3.40 area," said Haissam Arabi, the chief executive at Gulfmena Investments in Dubai.
Emaar's gains helped to push the main Dubai index above the 1,700 mark yesterday, the first time it has broken through that level in a month.
Investors are keen for the index to stay above the psychologically important mark as it is taken as a sign of the bourse's upward trend for the longer term. The Dubai Financial Market General Index closed up for a second day, 0.57 per cent higher at 1,703.30.
But Mr Arabi said the real measure of positive movement would be if the index broke through the year high of 1,778 reached last month.
The Dubai builder Arabtec led the index as it continued to attract investors after an announcement that Aabar, an Abu Dhabi Government investment vehicle, has increased its stake in the company. Shares closed up 3.48 per cent at Dh3.57 each.
The Saudi Tadawul All-Share Index closed 0.44 per cent lower at 7,895.36, ending five days of gains, as the price of Brent crude dipped 33 cents to US$124 a barrel. The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index clawed back early losses to scrape into the green, closing up 0.01 per cent at 2,563.77.
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