Emirati Stocks Close Muted as Geopolitical Tensions Flare

06:51 AM EST, 01/08/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and between the US and Venezuela again took the center stage as shares in the United Arab Emirates ended Thursday's trading session flat. At the close of trading, the FTSE ADX General Index and DFM General Index were little changed at 0.075% and 0.071% in the red and green, respectively. Saudi Arabia said that UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council leader Aidarous al-Zubaidi escaped to Abu Dhabi after he was removed from Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council and charged with treason. Bloomberg News reported, citing a statement by the Saudi coalition. In other news, markets are closely monitoring the latest developments surrounding the US and Venezuela and the implications of rising tensions between the two countries on oil. "Developments around Venezuela continue to grab headlines, putting further pressure on oil prices. President Trump said that Venezuela will sell up to 50m barrels of sanctioned oil to the US (which could also put immediate pressure on Canadian crude oil flows to the US). This would provide a release valve to Venezuelan oil, which has been struggling to find its way to market thanks to a US blockade on sanctioned tankers leaving and entering the country. Directing this oil to the US may reduce the need for Venezuela to cut output due to storage constraints," ING said. Zooming in at home, ADGM, Abu Dhabi's international financial center, launched new digital real estate services, including off-plan deal terminations, smart valuation, and improved leasing services through its Registration Authority. Over to corporates, Commercial Bank International (ADX:CBI) flagged a Jan. 13 trading suspension to convene a board meeting on the same day. Shares of the Abu Dhabi-listed lender closed flat when it last traded on Monday. Emirates NBD (DFM:EMIRATESNBD) closed 0.17% higher as it completed the issuance of a $1 billion bond with blue and green tranches to fund projects under its sustainable finance framework.