UAE stocks surge on rate-cut optimism

Stock markets in the United Arab Emirates closed higher on Friday, with Dubai driving the gains, as rising oil prices and expectations of a potential U.S. Federal Reserve rate cut later this month fuelled investor interest.

Concern about a softening job market will keep the Federal Reserve on course to resume its interest rate cuts next week, though the U.S. central bank is likely to move cautiously because of fresh signs that tariffs are pushing prices higher.

The Fed’s stance holds implications for Gulf economies, where most currencies are pegged to the U.S. dollar.

Meanwhile, oil prices jumped on Friday as concerns about oversupply and weaker U.S. demand were outweighed by fears of supply disruptions due to conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine.

Brent crude was trading 1.2% up at $64.14 a barrel by 1109 GMT

Dubai’s main index advanced 1.2% on broader sector gains, marking its biggest session gain in nearly two months, boosted by a 1.8% jump in blue-chip developer Emaar Properties and 2% rise in top lender Emirates NBD Bank.

Also, Dubai Investment surged 3.5% after Bloomberg reported that the firm is exploring listing its property unit.

Dubai market will require further positive momentum to confirm that the corrective period has ended and a sustained rebound is underway, said Ahmed Negm, Head of Market Research MENA at XS.com.

Abu Dhabi’s benchmark index extended its rebound to the second session with the index gaining 0.5%, lifted by a 3.4% gain in UAE’s third-largest lender Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and 1.8% rise in Emirates Telecommunications Group .

Abu Dhabi’s flagship energy firm Adnoc said on Thursday it has transferred its shareholdings in several listed subsidiaries to its international investment arm XRG.

Adnoc Gas and ADNOC Logistics & Services increased 0.9% each, while chemical firm Fertiglobe rose 0.8%.

Orascom Construction surged 5% in its second trading session on the Abu Dhabi market after an 8% surge on its debut on September 11. The company will continue to maintain its secondary listing on the Egyptian Exchange.

However, Abu Dhabi recorded a 0.2% loss on a weekly basis, while Dubai finished the week with 0.7% gains, according to LSEG data.

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ABU DHABI       rose 0.5% to 10,014

DUBAI           up 1.2% to 6,031

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