Dubai's market rallied the most since October yesterday as trading activity returned en masse to the emirate's stock market.
The Dubai Financial Market General Index rose 2.35 per cent to 1,396.04, its fourth day of consecutive gains and the highest level since December 5, when the market gauge last fell below 1,400. The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index also rallied, rising 0.5 per cent to 2,375.25.
The value of shares traded on the Dubai market rose for the third consecutive day to Dh242m, the highest since October.
Shares in the Dubai Financial Market Company, the Gulf's only listed stock exchange, rose 8.4 per cent to 79.5 fils each as investors piled into local stocks.
Emaar Properties led the gains on Dubai's market, with stocks in the developer of many of Dubai's biggest malls rising 6.6 per cent to Dh2.72 each, a day after Majid Al Futtaim Holding reported a 18 per cent improvement in its full-year earnings.
The market had been anticipating a rebound for some time, which was now being driven by news of increased spending by the UAE Government, said Yong Wei Lee, a senior fund manager at Emirates NBD.
"These shares have been trading pretty low for a while now. Traders have seen the markets move higher in Saudi and Qatar, so there's a bit of catch-up. And there's good news out there - the additional government spending on projects will help."
News released minutes before the close of trading that the UAE Government would create a fund to settle Dh2bn in debts owed by citizens also sparked a brief rally in the shares of Tamweel, the Islamic mortgage company.
Elsewhere in the Gulf, Kuwait and Qatar's markets rose while Oman and Bahrain slumped. The Saudi Tadawul All-Share Index creaked upwards, gaining 0.1 per cent.
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