UAE indices open higher at start of month

Dubai: The main index on the Dubai bourse edged higher on Wednesday, after being closed for a long holiday, as gains in blue-chip lender Emirates NBD helped offset declines in real estate.

The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) index rose 0.6 per cent at 2,695 points, while Abu Dhabi’s ADX edged up 0.3 per cent at 5,047 points.

The country’s top lender Emirates NBD rose 2.6 per cent, while Emaar-related stocks declined. Parent Emaar Properties fell 1 per cent, while spin-off Emaar Developments dropped over 2 per cent.

Also, oil prices rose for a third day as the world’s biggest oil exporter, Saudi Arabia, is pushing producers to deepen a supply cut agreement when OPEC and its allies meet this week, before the listing of state-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco.

Benchmark US crude rose 1.6 per cent or nearly a dollar to $57 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange while Brent crude, used to price international oils, were up $1.04, or 1.71 per cent, at $61.86 a barrel in London.