The Abu Dhabi index closed higher on Friday, boosted by gains in Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank after sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment sold its 7.6% stake in ADIB to the lender's major shareholder, Emirates International Investment Company. Posts transaction, the stake of Emirates International Investment Company in ADIB rose to 47%.

The Abu Dhabi benchmark index settled 0.3% higher, extending gains from the previous session, lifted by a 3.6% increase in ADIB, while UAE's largest lender First Abu Dhabi Bank gained 1%. Among the winners, Bank Of Sharjah surged 14.9%, its biggest intraday gain since late October 2021, after the lender received shareholders' approval to raise capital by issuing shares worth 800 million dirhams ($217.88 million).

Oil prices - a key catalyst for Gulf's financial market - rose more than 2% on hopes of the U.S. Federal Reserve pausing the rate hike cycle at its June policy meeting.

However, the Dubai benchmark index retreated 0.2%, snapping three sessions of gains, dragged down by losses in industrials and utilities. Dubai Investments slid 6.2%, its steepest intraday dip in 51 weeks, as the stock went ex-dividend. The board of Dubai Investments on March 21 proposed 12.5 fils per share cash dividend for the second half of the year. Among other stocks, Emirates Central Cooling System Corp fell 1.7% after the firm reported a near-8% reduction in first-quarter net profit to 167.3 million dirhams ($45.56 million).

The Dubai index posted weekly gains of 1.1%, according to Refinitiv data. The Dubai stock market saw some price corrections as traders moved to secure their gains, said Farah Mourad, a senior market analyst at XTB MENA.

According to Mourad, building on the last two months' momentum in the market, the Dubai index could extend gains during the next few trading sessions.

  • ABU DHABI up 0.3% to 9,706
  • DUBAI down 0.2% at 3,583

($1 = 3.6717 UAE dirham)

(Reporting by Mohd Edrees in Bengaluru; Editing by Sohini Goswami)