UAE markets rise as regional conflict lifts oil prices, signaling potential gains for Pakistan’s oil sector
Dubai’s bourse gained 0.6% on Friday, driven by a sharp weekly rise in crude prices amid heightened tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, while Abu Dhabi’s index edged up modestly.
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Desk Analysis
How This Affects the Exchange
Sector Effect
Positive · Buy bias
Higher oil prices boost Oil & Gas sector earnings, creating a Buy bias for related PSX tickers.
Sectors & Direction
Desk read
Desk call: Buy bias · Positively affected
- Oil & GasPositively affected
Companies
Mentions in This Briefing
Sectors: Oil & Gas — Positive · Buy bias. PSX tickers: OGDC, PPL. Higher oil prices boost Oil & Gas sector earnings, creating a Buy bias for related PSX tickers.
Full Story
Open on Business Recorder## Regional tension and oil price surge
The Gulf’s equity markets closed higher on Friday, with Dubai’s main index up 0.6% after two days of losses. The rally was underpinned by a weekly increase of more than 7% in crude oil prices, as attacks on key shipping lanes in the Middle East raised fears of prolonged supply disruptions.
Oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz remained constrained after the United States and Iran exchanged attacks, and the Houthi movement seized Yemen’s port of Mocha, threatening Saudi exports via the Red Sea. Vessel transits at Hormuz fell to seven on Thursday, well below the ten‑day average of 15, according to preliminary ship‑tracking data.
By 10:56 GMT, Brent crude was trading at $103.75 a barrel, down 3.6% on the day but still well above the $95 level that had prevailed a week earlier.
## Market movers in the UAE
- Emirates NBD Bank, the region’s top lender, jumped 4.2% and was the biggest contributor to Dubai’s gain. - Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corp. rose 1.9% after reporting solid quarterly results. - National Central Cooling slipped 2.1% following the appointment of a new CEO, Yousif Al Hammadi. - In Abu Dhabi, the benchmark index inched up 0.03% for a fourth consecutive session, helped by a 3.6% rise in Two Point Zero Group, an IHC‑owned investment firm. - State‑owned ADNOC Logistics & Services climbed 2.9% and NMDC Group, an energy‑infrastructure developer, added 3.5%. - The gains were offset by a 5% fall in chemical maker Fertiglobe and a 1.5% decline in the largest local lender, First Abu Dhabi Bank.
## Implications for Pakistan
The surge in global oil prices is likely to benefit Pakistan’s oil‑and‑gas companies, which stand to earn higher margins on crude sales and downstream operations. A sustained rise in Brent could also bolster the rupee by improving the trade balance, given Pakistan’s net oil imports.
## Outlook for the AI data‑center project
Separately, sources told Reuters that the UAE is quietly revising its plans for a 5‑gigawatt AI data‑center project – one of the world’s largest outside the United States – after the Iran‑related conflict prompted a strategic rethink on the location of critical infrastructure.
## Weekly performance
For the week, the Abu Dhabi index posted a 1.4% gain, while Dubai’s index rose 1.0%, according to LSEG data.