Dubai Financial Market rises, Emirates NBD Egypt rumours resurface

Emirates NBD issued a statement declining to comment on persistent rumours it is in talks to buy Barclays Egypt assets.

Share prices on the two main UAE exchanges rose broadly on Sunday.

The Dubai general index closed up 38.86, or 1.1 per cent, at 3,511.24. The index ran up strongly in spring from a low of just above 2,600 in January but has since been trading between about 3,300 and 3,500, mirroring relatively stable oil prices.

Among stocks in Dubai, Emirates NBD shares closed down 5 fils at Dh8.45. as the bank again issued a statement declining to comment on persistent rumours it is in talks to buy Barclays Egypt assets.

The Emirates NBD chief executive Shayne Nelson told The National in March the bank was interested in expanding in Africa through acquisition, but the lender in June issued a clarifying statement to the exchange declining to comment on a report it was in talks with Barclays. On Sunday, the bank again issued a statement via the stock exchange in relation to a local report that it has teamed up with a Moroccan firm to bid for Barclays Egypt, saying “there is no critical information to be disclosed”.

Elsewhere, property stocks also gained, with Arabtec seeing the heaviest volume on the day and closing up 3.3 per cent at Dh1.54.

In Abu Dhabi, the ADX index was up 0.1 per cent at 4,533.50, with property strong, led by Eshraq Properties, which gained 2.7 per cent to Dh0.74.

RAK Ceramics ended unchanged at Dh3.20 after it reported a sharp drop in quarterly earnings after markets closed last Thursday.

Still, brokers including Nour Eldeen Sherif at Mubasher and Anoop Fernandes at Sico Bahrain maintained their “buy” rating on the firm.

Follow The National's Business section on Twitter