Sunday, Aug 30, 2015
Dubai: Dubai indices jumped along with Saudi stocks driven by a rally in oil prices on Friday.
The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) General Index closed 1.13 per cent higher at 3,689.55, after rising as much as 3,762.85 earlier in the session.
“This was mainly driven by the rally in oil prices,” Mohammad Shabbir, head of equity funds and portfolios at Rasmala Investment Bank, told Gulf News.
Brent, the global oil benchmark, closed up $2.49, or 5 per cent, at $50.05, after nearly reaching $51 a barrel. It gained 10 per cent on the week.
Oil had tumbled in tandem with stocks over much of the past week, hitting 6-1/2-year lows below $40 a barrel as Chinese financial tumult stoked fears of slowing growth. Oil rallied on Thursday as equities rebounded, but on Friday oil kept pushing higher even as equity markets were calm.
Volumes wears slightly higher at around Dh900 million on Sunday on the DFM compared to daily average of Dh300 million, but they were still down from the pre-Ramadan period of more than Dh1 billion.
“Volumes are still very muted, so there is no great excitement. So in the absence of high volumes, markets will be at the mercy of momentum forces,” said Shabbir.
In Abu Dhabi, the general index closed 0.17 per cent lower at 4,453.62. In Saudi, the Tadawul index closed 1.13 per cent higher at 7,690.4, after rising as much as.
Elsewhere in the Gulf, Qatar Exchange index closed 0.39 per cent higher at 11,339.50, while Kuwait Stock Exchange index closed 0.47 per cent higher at 5,904.12.
By Siddesh Suresh Mayenkar Staff Reporter
Gulf News 2015. All rights reserved.
