DFM index climbs 0.4%

28/12/2012 07:52 AST

Dubai’s small-caps helped the bourse extend gains as retail investors dominated, but other regional markets were mixed. There was little institutional activity as many investors were away on holidays.

Deyaar Development and Ajman Bank rose 2.9 and 3.0 per cent respectively. Dubai Financial Market, the Gulf’s only listed bourse, advanced 3.7 per cent.

Shares in Shuaa Capital closed 2.1 per cent higher at Dh0.595 after wild trading which saw them soar as high as 0.67 intra-day. The stock surged 15 per cent on Wednesday.

Dubai’s index climbed 0.4 per cent on Thursday and 0.6 per cent this week. Abu Dhabi’s measure advanced 0.3 per cent, edging up 0.2 per cent from last Thursday’s close; the index failed a test this week of chart resistance at 2,640 points, which was support in mid-October and late November.

In Doha, the index slipped 0.2 per cent to its lowest close since July 31. The market, down for a fifth straight session, went as low during the day as chart support at 8,308 points, its intra-day low on December 13.

“Recently most markets have been range-bound due to the lack of local catalysts and the fact that the earnings season will start very soon,” Al Masah Capital said in a note.

Egypt’s bourse bounced from a nine-day low on Thursday, as foreign investors’ buying interest continued to support stocks despite political instability and economic worries. Gulf markets were mixed amid a lack of positive catalysts.

Cairo’s benchmark index rose 2.2 per cent and closed very near its intra-day high, extending its 2012 gains to 49.6 per cent.

Reuters