7 things to watch as UAE markets open

Here is what you need to know as the opening bell rings in the United Arab Emirates.

1) Oil prices continued to slide on Tuesday, but remained above $40 per barrel (bbl) ahead of a meeting between OPEC and other major producers which aims to finalize an agreement on freezing output levels. Brent crude last traded 0.30 percent lower at $42.70/bbl and WTI crude slipped 0.32 percent to $40.23/bbl.

2) US stock markets closed lower on Monday as the Q1 earnings season kicked off, which is expected to see weaker corporate profits. The Dow Jones ended the session 0.12 percent lower, while Nasdaq fell 0.36 percent.

3) Most Asian equities advanced on Tuesday as a weaker yen boosted markets in Japan. The Nikkei was up around 1 percent, while the TOPIX index gained 1.5 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index edged up 0.1 percent and China’s Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 index lost 0.65 percent.

4) Dubai’s non-oil economy expanded in March following the rise in output and new work, according to Emirates NBD’s Dubai Economic Tracker, which climbed 3.6 points to 52.5 from the series low in February.

5) Abu Dhabi-listed Aldar Properties has launched the AED 6 billion (SAR 6.13 billion) Yas Acres project, a golf and waterfront development that will add 1,315 villas to Yas Island.

6) Manazel Real Estate PJSC launched a new subsidiary, Al Manzel, which will be responsible for managing and operating the company’s Dari initiative, it said in a statement to ADX.

7) Ras Al Khaimah Cement Company bought back 856,352 of own shares in two transactions at AED 0.84 per share and AED 0.85 per share, raising the number of shares bought back to 36,843,320, it said in a statement to ADX. The decision for the buy-back was taken during the firm’s board meeting held on January 31.

Write to Nadeshda Zareen at nadeshda.zareen@argaamplus.com