DUBAI: 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).