Abu Dhabi shares moved upwards yesterday as Aldar Properties closed the week with another strong gain.
Aldar, the developer of the Yas Marina Circuit and Ferrari World, added 2 per cent to Dh2.50, extending its 13 per cent gain since the beginning of the month. Sorouh Real Estate, Abu Dhabi's second-biggest developer, remained unchanged at Dh1.77.
"There is a lot of demand coming from specific listed companies. Foreign investors have been buying Aldar, which is the leader of the Abu Dhabi exchange, and defensive stocks," said Rami Awwad, the operations manager at Al Awael Securities in Abu Dhabi. "Many of the key local and international players in the market who hold long-term investments are ensuring that the equities remain at a certain price after the recent rally, which bodes well for the market in general."
The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index moved up 0.2 per cent to 2761.60.
The Dubai Financial Market General Index closed down slightly by 0.4 per cent to 1692.83.
Shares of Aramex, a logistics courier based in Dubai, added 4.1 per cent to Dh2.09.
Kuwait's measure fell 0.5 per cent to 6821.40; Bahrain's measure lost 0.5 per cent to 1425.67. Oman's bourse gained 0.3 per cent to 6717.26; and Qatar's measure dipped 0.3 per cent to 8750.02. The Saudi Tadawul All-Share Index was closed.