Abu Dhabi: The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) index rose 1.07 per cent on Thursday to reach 4,907.55 and approach the 5,000 resistance level, ending the week with a total gain of 1.96 per cent. Meanwhile, the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) general index fell 0.07 per cent to reach 5,051.27.

While trade values grew in Dubai to reach Dh605 million — up from nearly Dh388.4 million on Wednesday — values remained low in the capital at a total of Dh184.3 million.

Dubai powerhouses were mostly in the green with Emaar topping the market in terms of value traded, as it accounted for 24.4 per cent of the total trade value in DFM. Share prices for the real estate developer went up 1.46 per cent to reach Dh10.45.

Additionally, Dubai Investments Co. rose 2.2 per cent, Arabtec gained 0.47 per cent, Union Properties inclined 0.46 per cent, and Al Salam Sudan climbed 3.26 per cent. However, Salam Bahrain fell 1.4 per cent.

In Abu Dhabi, Arkan Building Materials Co. topped the gainers’ list with a 14.81 per cent change, followed by National Takaful Company with 14.58 per cent, Methaq Takaful Insurance Co. with 14.41 per cent, and FoodCo Holding with 11.11 per cent.

Analyst Osama Al Ashry commented on market performance saying that the rise in Dubai was mainly on the back of Emaar’s performance.

“I think Emaar must have some positive news coming out soon, so maybe their share prices rose on that basis. For now, the stock has a resistance level of Dh10.85, and if that is broken, it can reach Dh12.5,” he said.

As for the outlook for the market, Al Ashry, a member of UK organisation, Society of Technical Analysts, said the DFM index has a resistance level of 5,288, which, if broken, can reach 5,700.

He added that medium term looks positive, but the long-term is negative.

“The market has been going up since July 2013, and it hasn’t corrected yet, so it will at one point. Also, despite the MSCI upgrade, I think foreigners can’t trade well in the UAE because a lot of the stocks are not entirely open for foreigners,” the analyst said.

As for Abu Dhabi, Al Ashry said, “Most stocks in the banking sector are overbought so people are not comfortable buying these stocks anymore. They choose to buy those in the real estate sector, which are only two main stocks — Eshraq, and Aldar — so there aren’t that many active stocks in ADX.”

Of the 32 stocks traded on DFM, 22 went up, five went down, and five remained unchanged. Of the 39 stocks traded on ADX, 27 advanced, five declined, and seven remained flat.