Dubai stocks advance most in Mideast as ECB spurs ‘appetite’

Bloomberg

Dubai stocks advanced the most among Middle Eastern equities as the European Central Bank’s monetary stimulus boosted demand for emerging-market assets, adding fuel to bullish sentiment in the emirate.
The DFM General Index climbed 1.4 percent to 3,401.03, extending four weeks of gains, the longest streak since April. Emirates NBD PJSC, the emirate’s biggest lender, added 4.6 percent to the highest level in three months. Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index rose 0.2 percent.
“The ECB moves were taken well,” said Saleem Khokhar, the head of fund management and equities at the asset management group of National Bank of Abu Dhabi PJSC. “There’s a positive global backdrop in general and Dubai has been in risk-on mode for a while. We’re expecting this to continue.”
ECB President Mario Draghi exceeded investors’ expectations by cutting all three main interest rates and increasing monthly asset purchases, spurring investor demand for risky assets. Dubai stocks have been rallying after Brent crude prices climbed from the lowest level since 2003, lifting the emirate’s equity index into a bull market last month. Other stock gauges in the six-nation GCC, home to about 30% of the world’s oil,
followed.