Emirates NBD gains 8% on DenizBank news

UAE stocks led regional gains yesterday, with Dubai’s market bolstered by a surge in Emirates NBD after it agreed to buy Turkish lender DenizBank for $3.2 billion.

Emirates NBD has outperformed Dubai’s market so far this year, rising 30.5 per cent, compared to a 11.8 per cent slump in the Dubai index. The stock yesterday gained 8.4 per cent, helping the index finish 0.9 per cent up.

Emirates NBD, which already has a presence outside the UAE in several countries, said the deal would add value for shareholders in the first year.

Arabtec Holding closed 3 per cent up after the contractor said it had been awarded a Dh157 million contract to build two phases of a development in the Uptown Cairo master project.

In Abu Dhabi, the index closed 1.5 per cent higher. First Abu Dhabi Bank, the emirate’s largest bank, gained 3.1 pe rcent. Telecommunications operator Etisalat rose 0.9 per cent.

After opening lower, the Saudi index recovered to close 0.6 per cent higher. Saudi Basic Industries and Al Rajhi Bank, two of the largest stockson the index, finished up 3.4 per cent and 0.7 per cent, respectively.

In Qatar, the index closed 0.6 per cent up. Commercial Bank finished 1 per cent higher despite Moody’s downgrading of the bank’s long-term deposit ratings to A3 from A2 and its short-term deposit ratings to Prime-2 from Prime-1. The agency maintained the bank’s outlook as negative.

Doha Bank’s stock ended 1.9 per cent higher. Moody’s downgraded the bank’s longterm deposit ratings to A3 from A2 and short-term deposit ratings to Prime-2 from Prime-1, while maintaining the outlook as negative.

Meanwhile, emerging equities snapped a three-day losing streak yesterday and many of the more beaten down emerging market currencies such as the lira and rand bounced off lows as the dollar pulled back.

MSCI’s benchmark emerging stocks index rose 0.6 per cent after three days in the red, with Indonesian shares up 0.5 per cent, Turkey 0.7 per cent and Hong Kong 0.6 per cent.

The moves came after the dollar index retreated 0.3 per cent from a five-month peak hit on Monday and US 10-year Treasury yields fell from seven-year highs set last week, providing some respite for riskier emerging market assets.