Stock markets in the United Arab Emirates closed lower on Friday in ‍line with oil ‍prices on signs the U.S. may engage in dialogue ​with Iran over its nuclear programme, reducing concerns of supply disruptions from ⁠a U.S. attack.

President Donald Trump said on Thursday he planned to speak with Iran, ⁠even as ‌the U.S. dispatched another warship to the Middle East and Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said the military would be ⁠ready to carry out whatever the president decided. Oil prices - a key contributor to the Gulf's financial market - declined 1% to $70.04 a barrel by 1107 GMT.

Abu Dhabi's benchmark index declined ⁠0.8%, dragged down by a 5.5% ​slide in UAE's third largest lender Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and a 1.6% fall ‍in real estate giant Aldar Properties. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank reported fourth-quarter net profit of ​AED 3.34 billion ($909.56 million) that fell short of market estimates of AED 3.55 billion with Q4 operating income falling 5% sequentially.

Separately, Abu Dhabi's newest sovereign wealth fund L'imad Holding is taking control of peer ADQ, the government media office said on Friday, a major consolidation that creates a new investment heavyweight in the wealthy emirate under its crown prince.

Dubai's main market settled 0.7% lower, with blue-chip developer Emaar Properties slipping ⁠2% and Dubai Islamic Bank decreasing 2.3%. Dubai ‌recorded 6.4% gains, its strongest monthly advance since July last year, while Abu Dhabi jumped 2.9% over the month, according to LSEG ‌data.

  • ABU DHABI fell ⁠0.8% to 10,282 points
  • DUBAI down 0.7% to 6,435 points

($1 = 3.6721 UAE dirham)

(Reporting ⁠by Mohd Edrees in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)