Dubai, Abu Dhabi shares up on increased volatility

Ajman Bank, which paced DFM with shares value amounting to Dh489 million, was the biggest gainer as it jumped 6.4 per cent to Dh3.47 followed by Arabtec Holding, which added 4.8 per cent to Dh18.50. Arabtec, the builder of the world's tallest tower Burj Dubai, increased for the first time in three days as Al Mal Capital rated it "outperform" with a share-price estimate of Dh26.7.

The other big gainers were Union Properties, a Dubai-based real-estate developer, which increased 3.6 per cent to Dh5.40; the refrigeration firm National Central Cooling Co (Tabreed) with a jump of 2.7 per cent to Dh2.28 and Dubai Investments, which added 2.2 per cent to Dh3.70.

Emirates Telecommunications Corporation, also known as Etisalat, added over one per cent to Dh20.05 as second-quarter net income surged 64 per cent to Dh2.84, or Dh0.50 a share, from Dh1.73 billion, or Dh0.32 a share, a year ago. It said in a filing on the ADX website that it wants to expand its international operations.

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank gained 1.6 per cent to Dh5.15 while Gulf Medical Project topped ADX with a jump of 9.9 per cent to Dh3.54.

"What we are witnessing is a technical rebound," said Samer Al Jaouni, the general manager at Middle East Financial Brokerage Company, in a Bloomberg report. "July tends to be one of the slowest months in the region as most investors go on holiday and volatility is increased with the low trading volume."

At least 285 million shares valued at Dh1 billion traded in Dubai, or 67 per cent less than the six-month daily average based on Bloomberg's estimate. Shares value in Abu Dhabi amounted to Dh571 million with the volume falling 66 per cent compared with the six-month average.