[2008-02-04]  UAE stocks win back more than Dh22.5b of January's losses
UAE markets recorded substantial gains on Sunday, recovering more than Dh22.5 billion of last month's losses to return to the levels of January 1.

The Emirates Securities general index restored 2.82 per cent of its value to close at 5,997.64, 0.31 per cent less than its value on December 31.

In Dubai, the general index advanced by more than three per cent to 5,785.89, as Emaar Properties recovered by 3.33 per cent to Dh12.40.

The Abu Dhabi Securities Market Index rose 2.6 per cent to 4,688.14.

All the leading shares followed suit, including Dubai Financial Market, which surged 5.88 per cent to Dh6.12, and Amlak Finance, which shot up by 7.31 per cent to Dh4.70.

"These gains do not necessarily reflect a recovery, as the ambiguities of the US economy's prospects still prevail, and investors remain unsure about its direction and timeframe," Tarek Qaqish, fund manager at Al Mal Capital said.

"Hence, the markets can be moving sideways, while the high volatility will remain up to the point when the facts about the shape of the global economy become more clear."

Economists and analysts agree that the fundamentals of the listed companies remain strong, given the better than expected results announced by many leading shares for 2007.

In Abu Dhabi, the market rally was also obvious as the value of traded shares recovered to more than Dh1.49 billion, compared to averages below Dh500 million towards the end of last week.

The real estate and energy sectors recovered substantially, while etisalat's 2.75 per cent worth of gains helped lifting the general index up 2.59 per cent to 4,688.14. The telecommunications giant stood at Dh24.25 by the close.

Aldar Properties and Sorouh Real Estate recovered 4.88 and 4.66 per cent to Dh10.75 and Dh8.54 respectively, while Aabar Petroleum and Dana Gas gained three per cent each to close at Dh4.47 and Dh2.37 respectively.

Saudi Arabia's Tadawul All Share Index increased 0.2 per cent, while the Kuwait Stock Exchange Index gaining 0.9 per cent. The Bahrain All Share Index advanced 0.5 per cent and Oman's Muscat Securities Market 30 Index lost 0.6 per cent.

Members of Dubai's index trade at an average of 17.6 times estimated earnings, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That compares with a multiple of 34.6 for China's CSI 300 Index and 21.4 for India's Sensitive Index.

Amlak Finance surged on information that the company bought six million square feet of land in Dubai to develop a multi- use real-estate project.


Source: © Al Nisr Publishing LLC 2007.