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Most Gulf stock markets rose in early trade on Tuesday following President Donald Trump's remarks that the Middle East conflict could end soon.
Still, hopes of a quick resolution were undermined by Iran's military, which signaled it would continue the conflict.
Dubai's main share index advanced 1.5%, led by a 2.9% rise in top lender Emirates NBD and a 3.9% increase in sharia-compliant lender Dubai Islamic Bank .
Among other gainers, Dubai Financial Market, which operates the emirate's stock exchange, jumped 10.5%.
However, the gains were limited by a 4.1% fall in blue-chip developer Emaar Properties amid ongoing caution over the Middle East conflict.
In Abu Dhabi, the index was down 0.1% in choppy trade, hit by a 4.7% slide in Aldar Properties.
In steps aimed at stabilizing markets, the UAE Securities and Commodities Authority said last week that Abu Dhabi's ADX and Dubai's DFM exchanges suspended trading on March 2 and 3, while the two exchanges said they would temporarily set a 5% floor on securities declines.
The Qatari index gained 0.7%, with petrochemical maker Industries Qatar rising 1.3% and telecoms firm Ooredoo advancing 1.8%.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark index was up 0.2%, supported by a 1.4% gain in Al Rajhi Bank.
Oil major Saudi Aramco retreated 2.3%, after reporting a 12% drop in annual profit mainly due to lower crude prices.
Oil prices fell on Tuesday after hitting a more than three-year high in the previous session, following Trump's comment.
(Reporting by Ateeq Shariff in Bengaluru; Editing by Ronojoy Mazumdar and Janane Venkatraman)





















