Shares in the UAE were little changed on Wednesday, closing ahead of rising oil prices that lifted stocks in Saudi Arabia.
Brent crude futures, which retreated on Tuesday after a lukewarm reaction to an agreed freezing of oil production by Saudi Arabia and Russia, bounced back, rising 3.2 per cent to $33.22 per barrel late afternoon trading.
The rise in crude prices boosted equities in Saudi Arabia, with the Tadawul All Share Index ending the day 1 per cent higher.
The Dubai Financial Market General Index by contrast fell 0.25 per cent at 3,057.21, dragged lower by Emaar Properties and Emirates NBD.
Emaar shares were off 1 per cent at Dh5.60, while Emirates NBD closed 0.6 per cent lower at Dh7.35. Emaar Malls and Dubai Investment Bank led gains among blue chip stocks, ending up 1.6 and 1 per cent respectively.
GFH rose 1.3 per cent to 58.7 fils, after the distressed company specialist Abu Dhabi Financial Group announced that its Integrated Capital subsidiary had increased its stake in the Bahraini financial group to 10 per cent, making it the largest GFH shareholder.
Abu Dhabi’s headline index ended the day up 0.2 per cent at 4,148.63, thanks to gains by big-name stocks including ADCB, FGB and Etisalat.
jeverington@thenational.ae
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