DUBAI: UAE stock markets closed higher on the last trading day of 2023, with the Dubai index rising for a third year on expectations for interest rate cuts in 2024.

Dubai’s benchmark index gained 0.3% on Friday, lifted by a 1.3% rise in toll operator Salik Company, while top lender Emirates NBD Bank increased 0.9%.

The Dubai index, which hit its highest in nearly eight years in early October, finished the year 21.8% higher.

It was supported by gains in heavyweight real estate and banking sectors in 2023, as blue-chip developer Emaar Properties ended the year up 35.2% and Emirates NBD 33.1% higher.

The Dubai market gained strongly during the first half of the year, but steadied and then retreated in reaction to the flare-up in geopolitical tensions in the region, said Abdelhadi Laabi, chief marketing officer at KAMA Capital. However, “the market was able to recover a significant part of its losses, returning to an uptrend”.

Abu Dhabi’s main index edged up 0.1% in a volatile session on Friday, supported by a 4.8% surge in state-run utility Abu Dhabi National Energy Company and a 2.2% jump in conglomerate International Holding Company (IHC).