Dubai stocks rose to the highest in more than a week on bets the UAE may secure an upgrade to emerging-market status at MSCI today.
Emaar Properties gained 1.7 per cent. Arabtec Holding Co increased to the highest this month. The benchmark DFM General Index rose 0.4 per cent to 1,479.20 points, the highest since June 11. Abu Dhabi’s shares rose 0.3 per cent to 2,467.97 points.
About 50 million shares traded in Dubai on Tuesday, compared with a six-month daily average of 204 million shares. Emaar increased to Dh2.93, the highest since May 22. Arabtec gained 1.1 per cent to Dh2.88, the highest since May 31. The UAE and Qatar are up for a potential promotion from frontier-market status after failing to secure the designation twice last year as investors cited concern about a settlement system and foreign ownership limits. An upgrade of the UAE at MSCI may draw more investors as fund managers buy their shares to mirror the indexes, which are tracked by investors with about $7 trillion in assets. MSCI will release the results today.
Some “investors are betting on a positive result from the MSCI decision regarding the upgrade of the UAE,” said Nabil Farhat, a partner at Abu Dhabi-based Al Fajer Securities. “The country has met most requirements for the promotion. Also the results of the election in Greece and the G-20 meeting were somewhat encouraging.”
Drawing in investors
Most European stocks gained after Greek policymakers moved toward forming a government and Group of 20 leaders discussed the region’s financial crisis. Dubai relies on trade, tourism and property for growth. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose for a third day, advancing 0.5 per cent.
Elsewhere, Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index and Qatar’s shares were little changed. Kuwait’s measure and Bahrain’s gauge decreased 0.1 per cent, while Oman’s MSM30 Index declined 0.2 per cent.
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