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Abu Dhabi, Dubai Stocks Fall as Iran Tensions Flare Up

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Markets in the United Arab Emirates closed lower on Wednesday as investors adopted a cautious stance on reports of renewed regional tensions with Iran.

At the close of trading, the FTSE ADX General Index was down 0.912%, while the DFM General Index declined 0.28%.

The UAE Ministry of Defence said Tuesday that the country's air defense systems detected two ballistic missiles from Iran. The missiles targeted maritime traffic and fell into the sea. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei, however, denied the claims, describing them as "baseless."

As tensions between the two Middle Eastern countries renewed, the UAE halted all trade, commercial exchanges, and financial transactions with Iran, citing threats to regional security and international peace.

Amid a quiet day for regional corporate news, Parkin (DFM:PARKIN) gained 2.14% at closing as it signed a memorandum of understanding with Modon Misr for Asset & Facility Management, Mwasalat Misr and Redcon Properties to explore joint initiatives in advanced parking management and mobility services in Egypt.

Elsewhere, Jefferies launched its coverage of Fertiglobe (ADX:FERTIGLB) with a buy rating and set a price target of 3.50 Emirati dirhams, stating that the Abu Dhabi-listed fertilizer producer's diversified plant locations partially shield it from trade disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. Fertiglobe's shares ended the session 0.77% in the green.

In other news, markets will await the release of the US Federal Reserve's highly anticipated Federal Open Market Committee July meeting minutes later in the day to get clues on future interest rate decisions, voting divisions among members, and inflation.

"Markets are looking for a more detailed sense of the committee's thinking beyond Kevin Warsh's limited forward guidance. Three participants voted in favour of a hike, and since then, several others have flagged willingness to support a hike if warranted by incoming data," Danske Bank commented.

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