Dubai shares rise

The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) General Index gained 0.1 per cent to close at 5,465.70, paced by Tamweel and Emaar Properties, as the Abu Dhabi Securities Market (ADSM) Index advanced 1.4 per cent at 4,759 points.

UAE home financier Tamweel climbed 2.9 per cent to Dh7.36, with shares value amounting to Dh304.7 million. Emaar, the biggest listed property developer in the Middle East and Africa, remained flat at Dh11.35.

Emirates NBD, the largest bank in the Gulf region by assets, dropped 2.2 per cent to Dh10.95 as its fund management unit, Emirates Investment Services Ltd (EIS), launched its Islamic Global Property Fund.

EIS plans to launch more Shariah-compliant funds this year to invest in the Gulf region, its officials said yesterday. The company already has an Islamic real-estate fund, which has provided a 16-per cent annual return since its launch in June 2005.

Shares value on DFM reached Dh1.44 billion compared with the 50-day average of Dh1.69 billion while that on ADSM was Dh1.15 billion compared with the 50-day average of Dh944.7 million, according to Bloomberg news agency.

Sorouh, the second-biggest developer in Abu Dhabi, and RAKPROP added 2.8 per cent each to Dh9.26 and Dh2.24, respectively. The former was raised by Al Mal, a Dubai-based multi-line investment bank, to "outperform" from "market perform", with a price estimate of Dh11.92 and the latter to "market perform" from "under perform", with a price estimate of Dh2.54.