Dubai's index slipped yesterday amid a lack of appetite for riskier assets from institutional investors, as retail investors focused on buying up small-cap stocks.
Tamweel, the Islamic mortgage company, jumped 3.5 per cent to Dh1.18. Tabreed, the district cooling company, advanced 1.6 per cent to Dh1.21.
"These stocks have been falling for two weeks and now we are seeing a rebound, helped by retail investors," said Nabil Farhat, a partner at Al Fajer Securities, a stockbrokerage in Abu Dhabi. "From a technical point of view, its time to get in now that they have reached a bottom."
Dubai Islamic Bank - which has the second-heaviest weighting on Dubai's index at 12.81 per cent - fell 1 per cent to Dh1.96.
The Dubai Financial Market General Index ended 0.1 per cent lower to 1,589.48.
Abu Dhabi's biggest property developers, Aldar and Sorouh, slipped yesterday as investors awaited cues on an upcoming potential merger.
Aldar, which developed Yas Island and Ferrari World, lost 0.7 per cent to Dh1.27.
Sorouh, the developer behind Reem Island's Sun and Sky Towers, lost 0.8 per cent to Dh1.24.
"We seem to have run out of momentum, which means investors have given up on an imminent announcement over the merger," said Julian Bruce, the director of institutional sales trading at EFG Hermes in Dubai. "Investors aren't expecting a great deal before year end."
Etisalat, which holds the heaviest weighting on Abu Dhabi's index at 30.73 per cent, rose 0.2 per cent to Dh9.09.
The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index was little changed, up 0.02 per cent, to close at 2,611.35 points.