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UAE Stocks Close Busy Corporate Earnings Week Downbeat

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Shares in the United Arab Emirates ended the week in the red as investors dissected the latest batch of corporate earnings reports from companies operating in the region.

At the close of Friday trading, the FTSE ADX General Index was down 0.276%, while the DFM General Index declined 0.46%.

Abu Dhabi National Energy Co. (ADX:TAQA), d/b/a Taqa, reported an increase in its first-quarter attributable profit despite lower revenues due to reduced sales in its oil and gas business. Al Wathba National Insurance Co.'s (ADX:AWNIC) net loss for the quarter declined year over year, backed by a 50% growth in insurance revenue. Shares of both companies closed the session flat.

Dubai-listed Al Ansari Financial Services (DFM:ALANSARI) and National General Insurance (DFM:NGI) both recorded lower annual profits in the first quarter and closed 0.20% and 0.34% in the green, respectively.

Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan directed Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., d/b/a Adnoc, to accelerate the delivery of the new West-East Pipeline project to curb the UAE's dependence on the Strait of Hormuz. The project will double Adnoc's export capacity through Fujairah and is expected to be operational in 2027.

On the geopolitical front, US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping held a second day of talks in Beijing. Reuters reported Friday that China vowed not to supply Iran with military equipment and agreed on the latter not having nuclear weapons, as well as the need to open the Hormuz waterway.

"While we anticipated headlines from President Trump's Beijing visit indicating Chinese support for reopening the Strait, we still question how much capital they will deploy to resolve the stalemate. Despite the war's ongoing economic costs, it has also seemingly served China's strategic interests by compelling Washington to redeploy military assets that would be used for the defense of Taiwan to the Middle East. In addition, China has been able to deploy its vast energy stockpiles-both conventional and renewable-to bolster relations with neighbors," RBC Capital Markets said.

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