© Reuters. Electronic screens showing stock data on the Dubai Stock Exchange. Photo from Reuters archive.
From Muhammad Idris
(Reuters) – Stock exchanges in the UAE closed higher on Friday, due to a sharp jump in prices after Russia announced a reduction in its oil production next month.
Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Friday that Moscow would cut its oil production by 500,000 barrels per day, or about 5 percent of its production in March, after the West imposed a price cap on Russian oil and its products.
Oil prices, one of the main catalysts for financial markets in the Gulf, jumped more than 2 percent, recovering from the previous session’s loss.
Crude futures rose $1.80, or 2.13%, to $86.30 a barrel by 1120 GMT.
The main index in Dubai rose 0.2 percent, supported by the strong performance in the utilities and banking sectors, as the shares of the Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (Empower) rose 1.3 percent, while the shares of Dubai Islamic Bank (DFM:) increased 0.5 percent.
But Tecom Group shares fell 3.4 percent after it announced a 28 percent increase in full-year net profit of 725.6 million dirhams ($197.56 million), lower than analysts’ estimate of 839.5 million dirhams.
Saeed Fadi Riad, senior market analyst at Capix.com Middle East and North Africa, said the main rose this week thanks to improved overall conditions, but it may witness some price corrections if investors move to take profits.
The index has risen 2.1 percent this week, according to Refinitiv data.
While the main closed 0.2 percent higher, recovering from early losses, to continue its gains for the tenth session in a row.
The banking sector led the gains, as Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank rose 2.2 percent, while Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, the third largest bank in the Emirates, rose 0.5 percent.
But shares of First Abu Dhabi Bank, the largest lender in the UAE, fell 0.3 percent after the bank said it was not currently evaluating any offer for Britain’s Standard Chartered Bank, the second time the bank denied reports of a potential offer.
( = 3.6729 AED)
(Prepared by Muhammad Aysem for the Arabic Bulletin – Edited by Suha Jadu)