What you need to know as UAE markets open on July 3

Here are some things you need to know as markets open today in the United Arab Emirates.

1) Commercial Bank of Dubai has scheduled a board meeting for July 12 to discuss financial statements for second quarter of 2017.

2) The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority is the second largest sovereign wealth fund in the world, with total assets at $828 billion, Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute data showed. The Investment Corporation of Dubai ranked 11th with total assets of $200.5 billion, and Mubadala Investment Company came in at 14 with assets at $125 billion.

3) Bank of America Merrill Lynch said it expects overall UAE real GDP growth of 0.9 percent in 2017, from 2.2 percent likely in 2016. The non-oil real GDP growth is likely to have bottomed out as the fiscal drag eases and infrastructure activity picks up, BofAML said.

4) The United States has lifted a ban on laptops in flights from Abu Dhabi to America, noting that the Etihad Airways had put in place the required security measures.

5) Oil prices extended gains as markets reopened on Monday. Brent crude was last up 0.1 percent at $48.82/bbl and WTI crude rose 0.3 percent to $46.17/bbl.

6) Asian stocks were mixed towards closing hours. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index was last up 0.3 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.1 percent, while China’s CSI300 Index slipped 0.4 percent.

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