The Abu Dhabi index ended in the green on Friday ahead of a keynote address by U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, with the market widely anticipating an interest-rate cut next month.
Three central bank officials alluded on Thursday to a U.S. rate cut in September and said they supported a “slow and methodical” approach to monetary policy easing.
Monetary policy in the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), including the UAE, is usually guided by the Fed’s decisions, as most regional currencies are pegged to the U.S. dollar.
The benchmark Abu Dhabi index settled 0.04% higher in a volatile session, supported by a 0.1% gain in International Holding Company, the UAE’s richest firm, and a 0.2% hike in IHC subsidiary Alpha Dhabi Holding.
Among the gainers, Marine services firm NMDC Group jumped 3.4% after securing an over $200-million contract for marine dredging works in ADNOC’s LNG project.
Gulf markets gain on hopes of early US Fed rate cut
The NMDC Group board will hold a meeting later in the day to discuss offering the company’s stake in NMDC Energy through a public subscription.
Oil prices, a key catalyst of the Gulf’s financial markets, extended gains on Friday as renewed ceasefire talks in Gaza eased fuel-supply concerns, with Brent crude increasing 1%, to $77.99 a barrel, by 1119 GMT.
However, Dubai’s main market slipped 0.4% to break a three-session-long winning streak, dragged down by a 1.4% decline in blue-chip developer Emaar Properties and a 5.5% dip in Commercial Bank of Dubai.
On a weekly basis, Abu Dhabi and the Dubai index were up 1% and 1.2%, respectively, according to LSEG data.
---------------------------------------- ABU DHABI up 0.04% to 9,374 points DUBAI down 0.4% to 4,293 points ----------------------------------------
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