UAE Stocks Close Mixed as Corporate Earnings Take Center Stage
Markets in the United Arab Emirates ended the trading week diverging as investors digested fresh corporate earnings while weighing uncertainty over US-Iran negotiations.The country's two benchmark indices closed mixed on Friday as Abu Dhabi's FTSE ADX General Index lost 0.256% and Dubai's DFM General Index gained 0.448%.As another busy earnings week came to a close, Dana Gas (ADX:DANA) reported a 47% year-over-year growth in its net profit for the first six months, driven by higher revenue, and closed the session 2.80% higher. Insurance House (ADX:IH) stocks, on the other hand, plunged 4.86% despite a surge in its net profit for the period.Emaar Properties (DFM:EMAAR) and its subsidiary Emaar Development (DFM:EMAARDEV) logged 22% and 48% year-over-year jumps in their first-half attributable profits, respectively. Emaar Properties closed 0.86% lower and was the Dubai bourse's most traded stock by value, while Emaar Development shed 1.62% at closing.On the geopolitical front, markets weighed the initial details of the Iran-Oman agreement to reopen the Hormuz waterway, which comprises a potential ban on US and Israeli vessels, transit fees of 5% to 7% and a penalty of up to 20% of cargo value on hostile countries, and other compensation for damage."Despite clear signs of progress in recent days, the tenor of the rhetoric and growing distrust between the US and Iran mean things could go from bad to worse once again," ING said. "For now, we hold onto our view that flows will start to normalise through the third quarter, which leaves us expecting Brent to average $80/bbl this quarter. However, there's plenty of risk and uncertainty to this view."On the economic calendar next week is the release of July's consumer price index print by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, providing investors with an overview of inflation and the US Federal Reserve's next monetary policy move.
