[2008-04-02]  UAE shares attractive after last month's drops
UAE shares have become attractive again after last months declines, paced by Emaar Properties and Arkan Building Materials Co. The Dubai measure yesterday grew 1.5 per cent to close at 5,433.62 while the Abu Dhabis main index added 1.3 per cent at 4,614.20 points.

"The low momentum over the past two weeks has made stocks attractive," said Sherif Abdel Khalek, head broker at Al Futtaim HC Securities, in a Bloomberg report.

The report also said that members of the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) General Index traded at an average of 13 times estimated earnings and 17 for those of the Abu Dhabi Securities Market (ADSM) Index. "That compares with a multiple of 20 for Chinas CSI 300 Index and 18 for Indias Sensitive Index," it added.

DP World, an international marine port operator owned by the Dubai government, slumped 5.3 per cent to $0.90 on the Dubai International Financial Exchange. Emaar advanced 2.7 per cent to Dh11.25, with shares value amounting to Dh287.3 million, on DFM. Some 63 million shares traded on Arkan, which climbed four per cent to Dh4.21 on ADSM.

Al Hayat reported that Emaar, the biggest listed real-estate developer in the Middle East and Africa, plans to build low-income houses in the US to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the credit crisis.

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