Dubai’s stock market registered a rise of 1.6 per cent after the emirate won the right to host the Expo 2020.

Dubai Financial Market shot up 4 per cent within the first half hour of trading on 28 November, but was unable to keep up the momentum and closed at 1.6 per cent higher than when the market closed today.

It was the first time in a week that the bourse posted gains of more than 1 per cent. The market’s performance was flat over the past month, decreasing 0.8 per cent following massive gains during the first six months of 2013.

Analysts are positive there is room for further growth in 2014, though it is unlikely that will be rapid as it has been over the course of 2013.

Dubai’s recovering economy, as well as anticipation around MSCI’s upgrade of the UAE to emerging markets status in May 2014, are the main factors behind the bourse’s exponential rise. The emirate’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth is expected to total around 4 to 4.5 per cent in 2013. That number is set to increase in the coming years as Dubai gears up for the Expo 2020.

According to Dubai’s bid dossier, hosting the expo will require an investment of $8.7bn. Further infrastructure upgrades are set to raise that figure even higher - the emirate requires approximately $43bn (47 per cent of the estimated 2013 GDP) to significantly upgrade its infrastructure, says a research report by Deutsche Bank. The bulk of that will go towards expanding the hotel and leisure industry, while around $10bn will be spent to improve transportation infrastructure.