What you need to know as UAE markets open on June 1

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

1) Dubai-listed Damac Properties will be added to MSCI’s United Arab Emirates (UAE) Index, starting today. Also, Gulf General Investment Co. (GGICO) will be deleted from MSCI's small-cap index.

2) Dubai-listed GFH Financial has received $2.5 million as settlement amount on behalf Prescott Energy Ltd. and others in the legal case, issued by Bahrain Chamber for Dispute Resolution. The case was filed by GFH against Prescott in 2013, regarding its investment in ‘Prescott Oil Fund.’ The recovery is expected to have a positive impact on GFH’s financial results of Q2 2017.

3) DXB Entertainments, listed in Dubai, said Mohamed Almulla has been appointed as its chief executive officer, in the place of Raed Kajoor Al Nuaimi.

4) Dubai-listed lender, Emirates NBD, has launched a sukuk index, covering global US dollar-denominated Islamic bonds. The Emirates NBD Markit iBoxx USD Sukuk Index will contain 98 sukuks from 61 issuers with a current market value of more than $90 billion

5) Nasdaq Dubai-listed Emirates NBD real estate investment trust (REIT) has acquired a 424-bed students’ residence on a sale and leaseback agreement at a transaction value of AED 120 million.

6) Oil prices recovered on Thursday from the previous session’s slide of more than 2 percent. Brent crude was last trading up 0.9 percent at $51.2/bbl and WTI crude rose 0.9 percent to $48.76/bbl.

7) Asian stocks were mixed towards closing hours. Japan’s Nikkei225 Index was last up 1.2 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.4 percent. China’s CSI300 Index, meanwhile, was down 0.2 percent.

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