UAE bourses end July on high note

The U.A.E. bourses ended the month on a high note as the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) index rose 1.98 per cent on Thursday to reach 4,833.24, bringing the total gains on DFM in July to 21.2 per cent.
Meanwhile, the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) general index went up 0.99 per cent to reach 5,054.95.
Volumes remained low, however, with under Dh1 billion traded in each market given that Thursday was the first day of trade after the markets took a three-day-long Eid break.
Share prices for Dubai powerhouse, Arabtec, rose 4.94 per cent to reach Dh4.25 after falling 20.61 per cent last week. The growth on Thursday brings the total increase in share prices in July to 53.25 per cent.
Other powerhouses in Dubai also ended the day in the green. Union Properties climbed 4.35 per cent, Dubai Investment Co went up 3.5 per cent, Dubai Islamic Bank rose 3.05 per cent, Gulf Finance House gained 2.31 per cent, and Emaar inclined 0.72 per cent.
Abu Dhabi
In Abu Dhabi, National Takaful Company led the gainers' list with a 14 per cent change, followed by Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank with 5.76 per cent, Bank of Sharjah with 5.71 per cent, and Aldar Properties with 5.01 per cent.
Sebastien Henin, head of asset management at The National Investor, commented on market performance saying it was "a surprise” to see the indices climb given the international environment and the performance of other emerging markets, particularly Argentina. He expected corrections in the next week.
Discussing the performance of Arabtec shares, Henin said, "[Q2 results just came out, and they were] disappointing. But these days investors are not looking at Q2 results for Arabtec; they are more focused on changes in structure, and what might be the new strategy of the company.
I think share prices will stabilise in the coming weeks. Don't forget that we had a period of very high volatility in the past six months,” he said.
As for the outlook for the markets, Henin expected the next few weeks to see profit-taking activity.
Of the 27 stocks traded on DFM, 18 went up, seven went down, and two remained unchanged. Of the 29 stocks traded on ADX, 17 advanced, nine declined, and three remained flat.