Investors eye Emaar as dividend play

Dubai's Emaar Properties is likely to remain at the center of focus for UAE markets ahead of its earnings and annual meeting on Monday, while Qatari stocks are seen extending gains. Emaar rose 3.1 percent on Sunday as investors bet on upbeat quarterly earnings and a dividend increase from the developer. "Emaar will play a big role as retail investors are expecting higher dividends--but other than that, expect some consolidation over daily performance as markets wait for a strong lead from international markets," says Marwan Shurrab, vice-president and chief trader at Gulfmena Investments. National Bank of Abu Dhabi has launched a real estate fund in partnership with a Kuwaiti firm to seek investment opportunities in the United Arab Emirates' property sector. In Doha, Commercial Bank of Qatar (CBQ) will be in focus after posting a 5.6 percent jump in first-quarter net profit on Sunday on but the results missed analysts' forecast. Qatar's index rebounded 0.7 percent on Sunday from Thursday's four-week low with estimate-beating results from heavyweight Industries Qatar supporting. The momentum is expected to continue. "Qatar has started to perform well after some recommendations from foreign research houses expecting good results for Q2. It will be a defensive play over the next two months for investors trying to reduce risk exposure in other regional markets that went up aggressively in beginning of the year," Shurrab adds. Asian shares and the euro eased on Monday, but losses were kept in check after a report showed Chinese factory activity stabilising in April, alleviating worries about a sharp growth slowdown in the world's second-largest economy. Brent crude rose 4 cents to US$118.80 a barrel by 0414 GMT.