Dubai small-caps gains; Abu Dhabi flat

Dubai small-caps gains; Abu Dhabi flat

Dubai's index rises to recoup some of Thursday's losses as small-caps lead trade, while Abu Dhabi's bourse is flat.

April 1, 2012 1:08 by kippreport

Dubai’s index rises to recoup some of Thursday’s losses as small-caps lead trade, while Abu Dhabi’s bourse is flat.

Dubai-listed Gulf Navigation gains 3.7 percent, National Central Cooling (Tabreed) rises 1.9 percent and mortgage lender Tamweel adds 1.7 percent.

Dubai benchmark climbs 0.8 percent to 1,662 points. It is up 22.8 percent in 2012, but has been trading sideways for about three weeks.

Traders expect the market to consolidate further as they seek a new catalyst to spark another rally.

In Abu Dhabi, Dana Gas is the main gainer, rising 4.1 percent. The index is flat at 2,553 points.

In Oman, investment firms help lift the market. Transgulf Investment rises 3.5 percent and OmanInvestment adds 1.8 percent. Muscat’s index rises 0.2 percent to 5,702 points.

Elsewhere, Kuwait’s bourse slips 0.3 percent to 6,146 points, an 18-day low. Investors are concerned over delays in companies posting fourth-quarter earnings, with many expecting disappointing numbers.

Logistics firm Agility bucks the trend, rising 2.5 percent. It reported a 114-percent rise in fourth-quarter net profit.

0604 GMT – Gulf sentiment is likely to be upbeat on Sunday following gains in Saudi Arabia and on world markets, but investors may remain cautious as they look for buying opportunities at the start of the second quarter.

“The sentiment of consolidation and holding at current levels is sustainable,” says Marwan Shurrab, vice-president and chief trader at Gulfmena Investments. “Any weakness in the market would meet willing investors looking for attractive prices.”

World stock markets advanced on Friday, posting double-digit gains for the quarter, as economic reports showing U.S. consumer spending and sentiment still on the rise helped buoy stock prices. Oil rose to post the biggest quarterly gain since the beginning of 2011.

Saudi Arabia’s bourse hit a fresh 42-month high on Saturday, rising 0.7 percent.

Elsewhere, Abu Dhabi’s investment fund Mubadala, which holds a near-majority position in indebted Aldar Properties, said on Thursday it plans to transfer a 14 percent stake in the developer to secure a loan facility from Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank.

Analysts expect little impact on Aldar’s share price.

Qatar’s exchange will launch two new indices on Sunday, the Total Return Index and All Share Index. It will also adjust some stocks on the existing main index and cap their weight at 15 percent.

In Kuwait, logistics firm Agility will be in focus after posting a 114-percent rise in fourth-quarter net profit compared with the same period in 2010.

(Reporting by Nadia Saleem; Editing by Matt Smith)