Emirati Stocks Rebound on Lebanon-Israel Ceasefire
Stocks in the United Arab Emirates recovered from two straight days of losses on Thursday as the ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel sparked investors' hopes for a broader peace deal between the US and Iran.At the close of trading, the FTSE ADX General Index was little changed at 0.03% in the green, while the DFM General Index gained 0.564%."The geopolitical headlines have become slightly more positive this morning, with oil prices falling back after the US said that Israel and Lebanon agreed to a ceasefire. That ceasefire is conditional on Hezbollah also stopping fighting, but in theory, the news helps to take out a key sticking point in the US-Iran talks that was holding up a deal," Deutsche Bank Research said.Despite the US-brokered ceasefire, Israel attacked southern Lebanon on Thursday, Reuters reported, citing security sources. Israeli Minister of Defense Israel Katz said that the strikes would continue for the time being without withdrawing forces from the region.Closer to home, the Abu Dhabi government implemented a temporary freeze on all rent increases, setting the annual rental cap increase to 0% across all residential and industrial properties.Over to corporates, First Abu Dhabi Bank (ADX:FAB) shares closed 0.37% higher as it partnered with Water.org and its affiliated impact investment manager WaterEquity to invest in the WaterEquity Everspring Fund. The investment is part of the lender's efforts to advance water and sanitation security globally.Meanwhile, Dubai-listed National Central Cooling Co. (DFM:TABREED), d/b/a Tabreed, stocks closed the session 1.93% higher. The district cooling services company named Atef Mohamed Awadh AlBreiki as its new chief asset management officer, effective immediately.
