Mideast Stocks: #UAE markets advance as oil prices gain

Mideast Stocks: UAE markets advance as oil prices gain

Stock markets in the United Arab Emirates advanced on Friday, tracking rising crude prices, as investors awaited an OPEC+ decision on supply agreements for the second quarter. Increasing possibilities of the Saudi-led OPEC+ extending its supply cuts beyond the first quarter, possibly until the end of 2024, is expected to maintain oil prices at or above $80 per barrel.

Oil price - a key contributor to the Gulf's economies - surged 1.18% to $82.88 a barrel by 1052 GMT. Dubai's main index advanced 1.1%, reaching a more than 9-year high, buoyed by a 2.1% increase in blue-chip developer Emaar Properties and a 4.6% surge in business park operator Tecom Group.

On Thursday, Dubai developer Emaar Properties launched two new projects, The Heights Country Club in Dubai and Grand Club Resort, with a development value of 96 billion dirhams ($26.14 billion). However, Dubai's largest lender, Emirates NBD Bank slipped 5.7%, which capped the gains in the index.

Dubai index notched up 3.1% on a weekly basis, its highest weekly gain since last November, according to LSEG data. Abu Dhabi's benchmark index rose 0.3%, helped by a 2.6% rise in IHC-owned investment firm Multiply Group and a 2.9% increase in Adnoc Distribution.

Among the gainers, Petrochemical maker Borouge jumped 2.9% after UAE's ADNOC closed the acquisition of a 24.9% stake in Austria's OMV . Last July, ADNOC entered into talks to merge petrochemicals group Borealis - owned by OMV and ADNOC - and Abu Dhabi-listed Borouge, owned by ADNOC and Borealis. "

Abu Dhabi market could rebound if geopolitical conditions improve and oil prices climb above their January peak," said George Khoury, Global Head of Education and Research at CFI.