Dubai Stocks Advance to Three-Month High on Earnings Optimism

By Zahra Hankir and Alaa Shahine

April 17, 2011 at 2:03 PM UTC

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Dubai’s benchmark stock index rose to the highest since January, entering a so-called bull market, as investors bet first-quarter earnings will beat estimates. In North Africa, Egypt’s shares fell the most this month.

Emaar Properties PJSC, builder of the world’s tallest skyscraper, increased 2.1 percent. Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC rose for a fourth day. The DFM General Index gained 1.6 percent to 1,648.44, the highest since Jan. 10, at the 2 p.m. close in Dubai. The measure has gained 22 percent from a low of 1,352.24 on March 3, surpassing the 20 percent threshold some consider the beginning of a bull market. Egypt’s EGX 30 fell 3.4 percent in Cairo after a claim filed with the public prosecutor alleged Citadel Capital SAE bought a cement maker from the government at a low price, a charge the company denies.