Dubai Stocks Maintain Profits After Break

DUBAI : The Dubai stock market opened up on Sunday after a two-day weekend which followed a Thursday surge of 7.0 percent, lifted by property giant Emaar’s decision to abandon a merger with state-owned entities.

Dubai Financial Market index opened 0.9 percent up, and increased gains within 30 minutes to 2.3 percent, or 37.67 points to 1,678.43 points.

The value of trades also increased within 30 minutes from 16.3 million dirhams (4.4 million dollars) to 178 million dirhams (48.5 million dollars).

Emaar Properties, the largest Middle East real estate firm by market capitalisation, saw its shares rocket on Thursday by 14.84 percent, narrowly missing the maximum-allowed daily increase of 15 percent.

On Sunday, Emaar shares were trading more than 6.0 percent up.

The recovery followed days of severe battering for leading shares, dropping almost the maximum-permitted 10 percent, as the market remained shaky over Dubai’s debt woes.

The market trades on Monday on the eve of the maturity of 3.5 billion dollars of Islamic bonds issued by Nakheel, the huge property arm of government-owned Dubai World — whose liabilities amount to 59 billion dollars.

Dubai rocked world markets in late November when it requested a freeze on debt payments by Dubai World, in order to restructure the group. Gulf markets also took the news badly.

In neighbouring Abu Dhabi the market was up 2.85 percent in the first 30 minutes to 2,573.54 points.