Stock markets in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) rose on Friday, as investors bet that the U.S. Federal Reserve was nearing the end of its rate-hiking cycle, while oil climbed above $81 following supply disruptions in Libya and Nigeria.
On Thursday some oilfields in Libya were shut down because of a local tribe's protest against the kidnapping of a former minister, while Shell suspended loadings of Nigeria's Forcados crude oil owing to a potential leak at a terminal.
Brent Crude was up $81.40 a barrel at 1148 GMT.
Most Gulf Cooperation Council countries, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, have their currencies pegged to the U.S. dollar and generally follow the Fed's policy moves, exposing the region to a direct impact from any monetary policy move there.
Abu Dhabi's benchmark index (.FTFADGI) rose 0.5%, extending gains to a third consecutive session, bolstered by a 0.9% increase in the country's largest lender First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB.AD) and a 1.8% hike in Emirates Telecommunications Group (EAND.AD).
In Dubai, the main share index (.DFMGI) also edged up 0.1%, supported mostly by its financial and industrial stocks, with Emirates NBD Bank (ENBD.DU), Dubai's largest lender, gaining 0.6% and business park operator TECOM Group (TECOM.DU) climbing more than 1%.
Both the benchmarks in Abu Dhabi and Dubai were up 0.7% and 1.2% respectively on weekly basis.
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