Stock markets in the United Arab Emirates ended lower on Friday, ​as renewed ⁠clashes between the U.S. and Iran near the Strait ‌of Hormuz weighed on investor sentiment.

U.S. President Donald Trump said a ​ceasefire was still holding despite a flare-up in tensions that dented hopes ​for a swift ​diplomatic resolution to the crisis.

Dubai's main index fell 0.5%, ending a two-session rebound, with banking shares ⁠leading declines.

Emirates NBD Bank dropped 1.4%, while Dubai Islamic Bank slid 2.2%.

Bucking the trend, Emirates Integrated Telecommunications advanced 3.1% after announcing a partnership with Ooredoo Group to land the ​FIG subsea ‌cable in ⁠the UAE.

The ⁠project is aimed at supporting rising demand from hyperscalers, cloud providers, AI ​platforms and data center operators.

UAE equities ‌eased after renewed Strait of Hormuz ⁠tensions, but resilient local fundamentals and any regional de-escalation could support a return toward previous highs, said Daniel Takieddine co-founder and CEO, Sky Links Capital Group.

In Abu Dhabi, the benchmark index closed 0.4% lower, pressured by a 1.2% decline in Adnoc Gas and a 1.5% drop in Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank.

Oil prices - a key ‌catalyst for Gulf's financial market - rose, with Brent crude ⁠futures up 0.67% at $100.73 a barrel by ​1143 GMT.

Despite the pullback, both indexes ended the week higher. The Dubai index gained 2.4% for the week, while ​the ‌Abu Dhabi added 0.5%, according to data compiled ⁠by LSEG.

(Reporting by Mohd ​Edrees in Bengaluru; Editing by Diti Pujara)