What you need to know as UAE markets open on May 8

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

1) Arabtec Holding has appointed Boyd Merrett as chief executive of Arabtec Construction, its wholly owned subsidiary. Merrett joins Arabtec from CIMIC Group, where he served as general manager for Leighton Asia in Hong Kong.

2) Dubai-listed airline Air Arabia reported AED 97.1 million in net profit attributable to owners of the company for Q1 2017, down 12.6 percent year-on-year (YoY) from AED 111.1 million in Q1 2016.

3) Drake & Scull International (DSI) is expected to turn profitable this year on approving its new capital restructuring plan and proceeding with high-yield projects, Wael Allan, CEO of the Dubai-listed contractor, told Argaam in an exclusive interview.

4) Emaar Malls, the retail arm of Emaar Properties PJSC, posted a net profit of AED 539 million in the first quarter of 2017, slightly higher than the net profit of AED 529 million during Q1 2016.

5) Dubai-listed GFH Financial Group aims to increase its assets under management from $3.5 billion to $5-6 billion this year, through acquisitions in the financial services and infrastructure sectors, the company said in a bourse statement clarifying media reports on Sunday.

GFH is currently considering 1-2 acquisitions worth $100-200 million in the financial sector, and 3-4 acquisitions in the infrastructure and strategic assets sectors worth $200-300 million.

6) Oil prices rose on Monday, after Saudi Arabia’s energy minister Khalid Al Falih said he expected OPEC’s six-month output cut agreement to be extended into the second half of the year and possibly beyond. Global benchmark Brent crude was last up 1.4 percent at $49.79 per barrel (bbl), while West Texas Intermediate rose 1.3 percent to $46.82/bbl.

7) Asian markets mostly traded higher on Monday, following Emmanuel Macron’s landslide victory in the French presidential elections. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index jumped 2.3 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.4 percent. Meanwhile, China’s CSI 300 index was down 0.9 percent. 

Write to Jerusha Sequeira at jerusha.s@argaamnews.com