DUBAI, June 24 (Xinhua) -- The stock indexes of the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia rose slightly on Sunday, as the OPEC countries and Russia agreed a day earlier to increase output from July.
The Abu Dhabi exchange index ADXGI closed 0.34 percent higher at 4,550.51, where shares of Dana Gas increased 0.94 percent, and Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, known as TAQA, grew 0.85 percent.
Oil prices jumped by over 5 percent on Friday, which supported the market sentiment in the Gulf Arab countries, according to Dubai-based economist Nasser Saidi.
"The oil price rallied after OPEC decided to increase output by 1 million barrels (less than some investors had anticipated) in accordance with non-OPEC members," Saidi said.
OPEC, short for Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, is an intergovernmental organization of 15 nations.
"Another positive factor was the 5.9-million-barrel drop in the U.S. oil inventories, more than analysts' prediction of 2.4 million barrels," he added.
Consequently, the Saudi Tadawul All Share Index surged 1.76 percent to hit 8,350.96. The Tadawul insurance sub-index gained the most among the industry gauges, up 2.42 percent as Sunday marked the first day that Saudi women were allowed to drive.
"The Saudi energy minister confirmed that Tadawul would be Aramco's primary listing, but the secondary international listing is yet to be determined," said Saidi.
The government plans to publicly list 5 percent of Saudi Aramco, one of the world's biggest oil companies, as privatization of state-controlled assets is part of the country's Vision 2030 scheme. This listing could be valued at 100 billion dollars, analysts said.
