What you need to know as UAE markets open on Oct. 1

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

1) Abu Dhabi-listed Eshraq Properties on Thursday denied media reports that it was planning a capital reduction to offset accumulated losses. The developer’s accumulated losses stand at AED 1.02 billion as of Q2 2017, it said in a statement on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX).

2) Today is the last trading date to entitle for Dubai-listed Drake & Scull International’s (DSI) capital reduction. DSI last week said it had obtained regulatory approval for its 75 percent capital reduction and the issuance of 500 million new shares to Tabarak Investment.

3) Dubai-listed Gulf General Investment Co. PSC (GGICO) has completed an AED 2.1 billion ($584 Million) debt restructuring after obtaining agreement from the majority of its creditors, it said in a bourse filing. The firm has obtained time until 2023 to dispose of non-core assets and retire debts, it added.

4) The UAE’s planned excise tax goes into effect starting today. Under the new system, a 50 percent tax will be imposed on carbonated drinks and a 100 percent tax will be introduced for tobacco products and energy drinks.

5) Oil prices ended the week mixed on Friday. Brent crude was 0.7 percent lower at $56.79 per barrel (bbl), while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) settled 0.2 percent higher at $51.67/bbl.

6) US markets closed higher on Friday, as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes saw support from gains in technology stocks. The S&P 500 rose 0.4 percent to 2,519 points, the Nasdaq Composite index added 0.7 percent to close at 6,496 points, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.1 percent to 22,405 points.

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