Dubai stocks climbed, tracking a record close in US equities, after the price of Brent crude rose to the highest since December. Abu Dhabi shares also gained.
“A mixture of several factors including a continued rebound in oil prices and a rally in the US stocks over the weekend is boosting investors’ confidence,” Tariq Qaqish, a fund manager at Al Mal Capital PSC, said by telephone from Dubai. Most of the current geopolitical concerns have been priced in, he said, Bloomberg reported.
Oil rose 2.9 percent in the five days through Friday to $65.28 a barrel, the highest since Dec. 9. The six-nation (Persian) Gulf Cooperation Council is home to about 30 percent of the world’s proven reserves. Most of their governments rely on revenue from crude to fund their budgets. Dubai’s DFM General Index added 2.1 percent to close at 4,172.14, the highest since Dec. 1. The Nasdaq Composite Index jumped to a record on Friday after Google and Amazon rallied on earnings results.
The gauge has almost quadrupled since global equity markets bottomed in March 2009. Brent crude gained last week on concern the crisis in Yemen, which lies on one side of the Bab el-Mandeb strait, the fourth-busiest global oil-trading chokepoint according to the Energy Information Administration, may disrupt supply. Kuwait’s SE Price Index added 0.2 percent, while Qatar’s QE Index retreated 0.1 percent and Bahrain’s BB All Share Index slipped 0.9 percent. Oman’s MSM 30 Index dropped 0.2 percent and Egypt’s EGX 30 Index fell 1.1 percent.
