Shares in Dubai continued their buoyant start to the year on Sunday, with higher oil prices and the prospect of new real estate projects boosting blue chips.
Brent crude futures settled at US$57.10 per barrel on Friday, their highest close for nearly 18 months, on the back of strong US jobs data and output cuts by Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
The Dubai Financial Market General Index rose for a sixth straight trading day, its longest winning streak since July, ending up 1.8 per cent at 3,692.22.
"January 2017 is so far looking very different due from January 2016, because of the difference in crude prices and the [better] short-term outlook," said Sanyalak Manibhandu, the head of research at NBAD Securities in Abu Dhabi.
Emaar Properties and DIB led blue chip gains, rising 1.6 per cent and 2.3 per cent respectively, with just three stocks closing lower.
Union Properties dominated trading, with nearly 190 million shares changing hands. The developer’s shares closed up 4.4 per cent at Dh1.18.
"Investors are showing positive speculative activity on some of the main real estate [names], as the talk is about new large projects being signed ahead of Expo 2020," said Hani Konquar of Mubasher Financial Services.
Banking stocks dominated a quiet day of trading in Abu Dhabi, where shares gained 0.5 per cent at 4,623.82.
FGB and ADCB were the pick of the gainers, rising 0.8 per cent and 2.2 per cent respectively, followed closely by NBAD and ADIB.
Shares in Saudi Arabia posted modest early gains before drifting lower, closing down 0.8 per cent.

Source: The National