Stock markets in the United Arab Emirates closed higher on Friday, with Dubai’s index boosted by a surge in blue-chip developer Emaar properties and its construction unit Emaar Development.

Dubai’s main index advanced 1%, boosted by a 4.4% surge in Emaar Properties and a 3.9% gain in Emaar Development.

Emaar Properties and its construction unit reported a 42% and 43% increase in their nine-month profits respectively on higher retail sales and rise in real estate demand.

“Strong corporate earnings helped the Dubai main index snap out of two consecutive days of price corrections,” Ahmed Negm, head of market research MENA at XS.com said. “However, the market could continue to see some risks despite its rebound.”

The Dubai and Abu Dhabi indexes posted weekly gains of 1% and 0.4% respectively according to LSEG data.

Abu Dhabi’s benchmark index settled 0.2% higher, supported by a 4.9% jump in Adnoc Distribution, while IHC-owned conglomerate Alpha Dhabi Holding was up 4.3%.

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Adnoc Distribution registered a 9% growth in its third-quarter net profit to 835 million dirhams ($227.34 million), beating market expectations.

Alternative asset manager Investcorp Holding priced the initial public offering of its investment unit at 2.30 dirhams a share ($0.6262), giving a valuation of 5.04 billion dirhams.

Oil prices - the key component of the Gulf’s economy - jumped 1% on Friday on concerns of supply disruption in Middle East.

Brent crude rose 1% or $0.83 to $80.84 a barrel by 1117 GMT.

========================================= ABU DHABI     up 0.2% to 9,549 points DUBAI         gained 1% to 3,969 points=========================================