Markets fall but du rises

Despite social unrest elsewhere in the region confidence in telecoms company du is up as share values rise.

The UAE telecommunications operator du made its first gain in nearly two weeks amid concern about social unrest elsewhere in the region that caused shares to fall.

The company rose 0.7 per cent to Dh2.98 on the Dubai Financial Market General Index as it said it was investing US$50 million as part of a consortium to build the Europe India Gateway, a broadband submarine cable that will connect three continents.

The Dubai index fell 0.8 per cent to 1,466.83 as most heavyweight stocks retreated. Emaar Properties fell 2.4 per cent to Dh2.85, and Arabtec Holding declined 1.4 per cent to Dh1.42.

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange was a bright spot in the region as the index closed up 0.6 per cent at 2,628.31. Most other regional markets declined as new reports of protests in Oman surfaced.

Muscat's index dropped 2.8 per cent to 6,458.37.

The Egyptian Exchangewill reopen tomorrow, Bloomberg News reported. The Cairo benchmark index, the EGX 30, was closed last month after falling 16 per cent in two days during the unrest that eventually ousted Hosni Mubarak from the presidency.

Saudi Arabia's Tadawul All-Share Index lost 5 per cent, the most in eight months.

Al Rajhi Bank, the kingdom's largest publicly traded lender by market value, dropped 5.2 per cent, and Saudi Basic Industries Corporation, the world's largest petrochemicals maker, slumped to its lowest intra-day level since October.