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Shares Rally Continues; Dana at 6-month High
DUBAI — UAE shares extended gains for a second day on Tuesday, with investors snapping up blue chips led by Dana Gas which surged to a six-month high, as global market rallies and firmer oil prices helped ease worries about the recession.
The Sharjah-based natural gas producer Dana Gas climbed to its best finish in six months, ending 6.4 per cent higher to Dh1 to bring its two-day gain to 14.5 per cent.
The company is part of a consortium planning to export gas from the Kurdish region of northern Iraq to supply the first phase of the Nabucco pipeline to Europe.
The Dubai Financial Market benchmark index edged up 1.2 per cent to 1,665.79, while the main index of the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange added 0.9 per cent to 2,616.13.
Construction giant Arabtec Holding paced advancers in Dubai, climbing by 3.1 per cent to Dh2.62 on expectations the company will bag a $3 billion property project in Russia by the month end.
Arabtec’s Chief Executive Officer Riad Kamal was quoted as saying earlier this month that the company expects to firm up the contract to build the headquarters of OAO Gazprom Neft — one of Russia’s largest integrated oil companies.
Index mover Emaar Properties went up by 2.7 per cent to Dh2.64.
Two other property companies — Deyaar Development added 1.6 per cent to Dh0.63 — while Union Properties gained 1.3 per cent at Dh0.76.
“The uptrend is continuing, retail investors are starting to accumulate stocks, particularly blue chips, but some institutions are also stepping in to buy stocks with sound fundamentals,” said Sherif Abdul Khalek, institutional trading manager at Beltone
Financial Securities.
Khalek said with most of the first-quarter results already announced, investors believe the worst is over.
“Investors expected the first-quarter to be very bad compared to the last quarter of 2008, but it was not as bad as they had anticipated. This is encouraing more individuals to trade on the markets, specially short-term investors.
The long-term investors are more cautious, which is why we can expect some votality until the end of the second quarter as speculators will dominate the markets.”
Dubai Islamic Bank inched up 0.4 per cent toDh2.34. EFG-Hermes kept its short-term “reduce” and long-term” accumulate earnings on Dubai Islamic Bank, while lowering its earnings forecast for the bank this year by 40 per cent.
EFG-Hermes said it expected a sharply reduced loan growth as the bank ‘right sizes’ the property financing book, and a significantly lower net customer returns and lower investment income.
EFG-Hermes also lowered its earnings forecast for 2010 by 36 per cent and by 30 per cent for 2011.
Along with Dana Gas, property stocks pulled up the Abu Dhabi bourse. Real estate industry leader Aldar Properties rose by 3.7 per cent to Dh3.95.
Second-ranked Sorouh Real Estate added 2.1 per cent to Dh2.86, while the smaller RAK Properties gained 3.3 per cent at Dh0.62. Abu Dhabi Comercial Bank ended 1.9 per cent higher
at Dh1.61.
The country’s third biggest bank by assets said it plans to open a Dh292 million loan facility to Abu Dhabi-based investment company Finance House PJSC. — rocel@khaleejtimes.com
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