MARKET REPORT Blue-chip stocks lead UAE exchanges

The Dubai and Abu Dhabi stock exchanges rose sharply yesterday on gains in their blue-chip stocks.

Dubai’s main index was up 1.3 per cent to 2,775 points. Blue-chip developer Emaar Properties climbed 2.5 per cent after it struck a deal with Beijing Daxing International Airport for joint execution of an $11 billion project that includes residential and leisure facilities.

Emaar units Emaar Development and Emaar Malls followed suit, rising 2.8 per cent and 2.6 per cent, respectively. Dubai Financial Market edged up 0.7 per cent after its second-quarter profit attributable to shareholders rose more than 9 per cent.

The Abu Dhabi index gained 1.2 per cent to 5,299 points, rising for a fifth day running, boosted by First Abu Dhabi Bank, which closed 1.5 per cent higher after reporting a 5 per cent rise in second-quarter net profit.

Aldar Properties rose 2.6 per cent. After the market closed, the developer provided a progress update on recently awarded Dh5 billion worth of projects. It also raised its annual profit guidance by 50 per cent for the next three to four years.

Saudi Arabia’s stock market slipped as banks and petrochemical shares weighed on the index against a backdrop of political tension in the region.

The kingdom’s main Tadawul index fell 0.6 per cent to 8,907 points. The country’s largest petrochemical maker Sabic shed 1.8 per cent and its biggest lender National Commercial Bank was down 0.7 per cent.

Weakness in worldwide demand for oil shifted sentiment in the oil market in recent days, with hedge funds, producers and traders all taking a more bearish tack. Saudi Kayan Petrochemical fell 1.4 per cent after fell to a second-quarter loss, which it blamed on lower product prices and higher financing costs, while Saudi Arabia Fertilisers dropped 1.9 per cent after its profit for the same period was hurt by a production halt at one of its plants during maintenance.

Egypt’s blue-chip index also closed 0.8 per cent higher to 13,685 points, with market heavyweight lender Commercial International Bank gaining 1.2 per cent.

In Bahrain, the index slid 0.5 per cent to 1,527 points, while in Oman the index was down 0.2 per cent to 3,764 points.