Dubai stocks surge and Gulf markets rebound on Iran ceasefire

• Large one-day gain for Dubai’s index
• UAE bank and real estate stocks rallied
• Qatar, Oman and Tadawul all up

Dubai’s stock index made its largest one-day gain in six years on Wednesday following a provisional ceasefire between the US and Iran, with the tentative deal also spurring sizable rallies on other Gulf bourses.

Blue-chip property and banking stocks, which had been among the worst hit in a sustained sell-off following the start of the Iran war on February 28, led Dubai gains as trading volumes rose five-fold from a day earlier to the highest of 2026.

This buying helped Dubai’s index – which had slid 17 percent from the outbreak of the conflict to Tuesday’s close – to surge 6.9 percent to 5,777 points, its biggest gain since March 2020.

Abu Dhabi’s benchmark rose 2.9 percent, trimming its losses since February 28 to 5.6 percent.

UAE markets have faced the greatest selling pressure following the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran, Julian Bruce, managing director of EFG Hermes’ UAE brokerage, told AGBI earlier this week prior to the ceasefire announcement.

Bruce said this was because “active foreign investors had been overweight on UAE stocks for some time, with a big increase in foreign ownership in banks and real estate, particularly over the past 6-12 months”.

Western foreign institutions held more than 50 percent of Emaar Properties’ shares prior to the start of the Iran war, for example. Emaar’s stock surged 13 percent on Wednesday, having plunged by 31 percent from late February’s 20-year peak to Tuesday’s close.

Emirates NBD and Dubai Islamic Bank, the emirate’s two biggest lenders by assets, climbed 11 and 6 percent respectively, while Abu Dhabi’s Aldar Properties rose 10 percent.

• Oil plunges and stocks rally on US-Iran ceasefire
• Saudi institutional buyers help Tadawul outperform neighbours
• Gulf stocks steady but sentiment fragile

Qatar’s index was similarly buoyant, increasing 3.7 percent to reduce its losses since the start of the Iran war to 3.6 percent as market bellwether Qatar National Bank climbed 4.2 percent.

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark was up 2.1 percent as of 12:44 GMT, outperforming all Gulf peers aside from Oman since March 1.

This was due to lesser disruptions to Saudi Arabia’s economic activity and Saudi Aramco’s ability to export about two thirds of its usual crude oil volumes via the Red Sea, circumventing a near-total Iranian blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.