UAE equity prices ease amid renewed Gulf tensions
The stock markets of the United Arab Emirates ended lower on Friday as renewed clashes between Iran and the U.S. near the Strait of Hormuz affected investor sentiment.
U.S. president Donald Trump stated that a ceasefire still held despite an increase in tensions which drained hopes of a quick diplomatic solution to the crisis.
Dubai's main stock index dropped 0.5% after a two-session recovery. Banking shares led the declines.
Emirates NBD Bank fell?1.4% while Dubai Islamic Bank declined 2.2%.
After announcing its partnership with Ooredoo Group, Emirates Integrated Telecoms advanced by 3.1%.
The project aims to?support the rising demand from hyperscalers and cloud providers as well as data center operators.
After renewed Strait of Hormuz tenseness, UAE equity prices eased, but resilient fundamentals in the region and any de-escalation of regional tensions could support a return to previous highs.
The benchmark index in Abu Dhabi closed 0.4% lower. This was due to a drop of 1.2% in Adnoc Gas, and a drop of 1.5% in Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank.
Brent crude futures were up 0.67% to $100.73 per barrel at 1143 GMT.
Both indexes finished the week higher despite the decline. According to LSEG, the Dubai?index rose 2.4% during the week while Abu Dhabi gained 0.5%. (Reporting and editing by Diti Pjara in Bengaluru, Mohd. Edrees from Bengaluru)
(source: Reuters)
