A sharp rise in global markets on Friday is high is seen as likely to buoy Gulf investor sentiment on Sunday, while increased interest in petrochemical stocks should extend the rally in Saudi Arabia.
Brent oil rose above $125 a barrel to end near a 10-month high.
United Nations’ nuclear watchdog said Iran has stepped up work on uranium enrichment, while the S&P 500 closed at its highest level since June 2008.
“The oil price is definitely good for the region but for the short term, Saudi would be the main beneficiary because of its huge petrochemical sector,” says Sebastien Henin, portfolio manager at The National Investor.
“For the UAE, it’s more indirect. After the sharp rally in the past weeks, even if we see some profit-taking in the coming sessions, the sentiment is changing. We could expect Abu Dhabi to catch up with Dubai’s performance – it doesn’t make sense to have such a huge gap.”
Dubai’s benchmark is up 20.6 percent in 2012 and Abu Dhabi’s index is up 5.7 percent.
Saudi Arabia’s bourse rose on Saturday, closing at 7,075 points, its highest level since October 2008.
UAE telecoms operator Etisalat will be in focus after saying on it had launched legal proceedings against its Indian joint venture partners alleging fraud in an attempt to recover some of the losses arising from its scandal-hit investment in the country.
Elsewhere, Bahraini Islamic lender Al Baraka Banking Group made a fourth-quarter net profit of $46 million, unchanged on the same period in 2010, the bank said in a statement on Thursday.
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