Dubai shares climbed to the highest level in four months, leading a Middle East rally, after a U.S. durable goods report and German consumer confidence eased concern about growth prospects. Oil rose the most in two weeks.

Emaar Properties PJSC, the developer of the world’s tallest skyscraper, increased 1.6 percent and Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC, the United Arab Emirates’ biggest Islamic lender, advanced the most since Sept. 21. The DFM General Index gained as much as 1.8 percent to 1,719.72, the highest intraday level since May 18. The index was at 1,709.37 at 11:46 a.m. in Dubai. The Bloomberg GCC 200 Index added 0.2 percent and Egypt’s EGX 30 Index rose for a sixth day, climbing 0.9 percent.
“The strong performance of U.S. and European markets last week helped boost investor sentiment in the region,” said Ziad Dabbas, a financial analyst at National Bank of Abu Dhabi PJSC, the UAE’s second-largest lender by assets. “We expect foreign investments to increase as the overall situation improves.”
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index increased 2.1 percent last week after a government report showed orders for durable goods excluding transportation equipment advanced in August at twice the pace forecast by economists. Shares in Europe rose as German business confidence unexpectedly increased to the highest level in more than three years in September.
Crude oil soared 1.7 percent on Sept. 24 to $76.49 a barrel as the dollar fell against the euro, boosting the appeal of commodities as an alternative investment. The six nations of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council supply about a fifth of the world’s oil.
-------------Emerging market funds
Emerging-market stock funds drew the most inflows in seven weeks and commodity funds posted the best week since early June amid speculation central banks globally will provide additional stimulus, research company EPFR Global said Sept. 24. Stocks have rallied this month after central bankers from Japan to the U.K. indicated that further stimulus may be in store. The U.S. Federal Reserve also said slowing inflation and sluggish growth may need more action.
Emaar, which has the heaviest weighting in Dubai’s index, climbed the most since Sept. 19 to 3.84 dirhams. Dubai Islamic rose 1.3 percent to 2.33 dirhams.
Qatar’s QE Index gained 0.3 percent. Abu Dhabi’s ADX General Index increased 0.6 percent and Oman’s MSM30 Index advanced 0.7 percent. Kuwait’s gauge retreated 0.3 percent, while Bahrain’s measure was little changed.
(Source: Bloomberg)