Emaar Properties PJSC, builder of the world's tallest skyscraper, rose to the highest in three months. Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Co., the phone company known as Du, gained 1.3 percent. The DFM General Index climbed 1.6 percent to 1,680.96 at the 2 p.m. close Dubai, the highest since Dec. 9. The measure has surged 24 percent from a low of 1,352.24 on March 3, after surpassing the 20 percent threshold some consider the beginning of a bull market.
"There are positive expectations for first-quarter results," said Mohammed Ali Yasin, chief investment officer at Abu Dhabi-based financial services company CAPM Investments PJSC. "On the macro picture, higher oil prices have supported the rally." Investor optimism that the U.A.E. will secure an upgrade in June at MSCI Inc. has also helped gains, he said.
Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC, the lender with the second- heaviest weighting on Dubai's index, may report a 55 percent increase in first-quarter profit to 310 million dirhams ($84 million), according to an EFG-Hermes Holding SAE analyst estimate on Bloomberg. Du may next week report first-quarter earnings that more than doubled to 207 million dirhams, according to the median estimate of two analysts on Bloomberg.
DIB jumped 3.1 percent to 2.31 dirhams, the highest since February and Du advanced to 3.22 dirhams. Emaar rose 1.5 percent to 3.46 dirhams.
Expected Earnings
Oil climbed as much as 1.6 percent to $109.92 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract has soared 20 percent so far this year amid an armed conflict in Libya. The six nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council, including the U.A.E. and Qatar, supply about a fifth of the world's oil.
Dubai's index declined 4.6 percent in the first quarter after uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa that ousted Egypt and Tunisia's leaders reached the Persian Gulf states of Oman, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. The gauge has advanced 8 percent this month on investor optimism Dubai's market will be raised at index provider MSCI. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index has gained 1.9 percent in the period.
The U.A.E. and Qatar are seeking to secure an upgrade to emerging-market status at MSCI, which will revalue its assessment in June, according to its website. Qatar's QE Index slipped 0.1 percent, paring the gain this month to 2 percent.
The Bloomberg GCC 200 Index increased 0.9 percent. Abu Dhabi's ADX General Index gained 0.2 percent and Saudi Arabia's Tadawul All Share Index climbed 0.8 percent, trimming the loss for the week to 0.5 percent. Bahrain's BB All Share Index rose 0.6 percent, while Oman's MSM30 Index declined 0.1 percent. For the latest updates PRESS CTR + D or visit Stock Market news Today
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