Stock markets in the United Arab Emirates closed higher on Friday, tracking oil prices on worries that a potential expansion of the Gaza war might disrupt Middle East supplies.
Oil price – a key catalyst for the Gulf’s financial markets – extended gains to third consecutive session on Friday, with Brent crude rising 0.56% to $86.87 a barrel by 1158 GMT.
Abu Dhabi’s benchmark index, which recorded its first monthly gain this year, advanced 0.6%, bolstered by a 7.5% climb in its largest utility firm Abu Dhabi National Energy Company and a 2.8% jump in the biggest developer, Aldar Properties.
Among gainers, the UAE’s largest listed firm International Holding Company rose for a second session with 0.2% gain, inching towards its record peak after a senior Vedanta executive told Reuters that IHC’s unit International Resources Holding (IRH) was among investors holding talks on buying into Vedanta Resources’ Zambian copper asset.
Major Gulf markets gain on firm oil prices, Egypt outperforms
Abu Dhabi’s index posted a 1.8% decline in second quarter, its third straight quarterly loss, while on a weekly basis the index was 0.5% up according to LSEG data.
The Abu Dhabi pushed through key resistance levels as oil prices have been consistently higher for the third consecutive week, said George Pavel, general manager at Capex.com Middle East.
Dubai’s main market settled 0.5% higher, rising for a third straight session, with Emaar Properties gaining 1.2% and Islamic lender Dubai Islamic Bank adding 1.4%.
The Dubai index posted its first monthly gain after three months of losses with the index rising 1.3%, however the index logged a 5.1% loss in second quarter, its biggest quarterly loss since Q2 of 2022, according to LSEG data.
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