Most major Gulf stock markets rebounded in early trading on Wednesday, buoyed by ‍hopes that the ‍United Arab Emirates' withdrawal of its remaining forces from ​Yemen could ease regional friction.

The UAE defence ministry said it had ⁠voluntarily ended the mission of its counterterrorism units in Yemen, its ⁠only forces still there ‌after it concluded a military presence in 2019.

The withdrawal of Emirati forces from Yemen, triggered by ⁠a Saudi-led airstrike, could ease tensions between the two Gulf powers.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index gained 0.7%, led by a 0.7% rise in Al Rajhi Bank and a 1.8% increase in ACWA Power ⁠Company .

In the previous session, ​the Saudi index retreated 1%.

The kingdom had accused the UAE of pressuring Yemen's separatist ‍Southern Transitional Council (STC) to push towards Saudi Arabia's border and declared its ​national security a "red line."

Dubai's main share index advanced 0.9% a day after recording its biggest intraday fall in more than six months.

Among gainers, lender Dubai Islamic Bank rose 1.4% and blue-chip developer Emaar Properties increased 0.6%.

Abu Dhabi's index was up 0.5%, set to recover some of its losses from the previous session.

The Qatari index, however, slipped 0.3%, hit by a 0.9% fall in Qatar National Bank , the ⁠Gulf's biggest lender.

Oil prices were little changed ‌on Wednesday but are set to fall more than 15% for 2025, as supply outpaced demand in a year marked by ‌wars, higher ⁠tariffs and OPEC+ output and sanctions on Russia, Iran and Venezuela.

(Reporting by ⁠Ateeq Shariff in Bengaluru; Editing by Thomas Derpinghaus)