UAE Stocks Blink Red on Reports of Further US Military Deployments in Middle East

07:45 AM EDT, 10/02/2026 (MT Newswires) -- United Arab Emirates' two benchmark indices ended lower on Friday as reports of further escalation in the seven-month-long conflict between the US and Iran weighed on investor sentiment. At the close of trading, the FTSE ADX General Index declined 0.252%, while the DFM General Index lost 0.49%. The Wall Street Journal reported that US President Donald Trump is considering resuming strikes on Iran after the midterm elections in November. The news outlet also stated that the US is deploying a third aircraft carrier and up to 10,000 troops to the Middle East. Meanwhile, Iran is reportedly ramping up plans for a broader military response to renewed US attacks amid no signs of a diplomatic breakthrough, Reuters reported Thursday, citing three senior Iranian officials and an insider familiar with the matter. "Coupled with the absence of any progress towards a deal, this led to growing pessimism that free shipping via the Strait of Hormuz would resume anytime soon. And in turn, that pushed longer-dated oil futures higher once again, with the June 2027 Brent future up to a new high yesterday of $88.03/bbl by the close," Deutsche Bank Research commented. Back home, the Integrated Transport Centre, or Abu Dhabi Mobility, announced an investment of over 300 million Emirati dirhams in Abu Dhabi's public transport systems to accelerate digital transformation across the sector and enhance the efficiency of mobility services. Over to corporates, Abu Dhabi-listed Lulu Retail (ADX:LULU) launched a new Omani hypermarket as part of its broader Gulf Cooperation Council growth strategy. The Emirati full-line retailer ended the session 0.43% lower. Elsewhere, Al Salam Bank (DFM:SALAM_BAH) adopted JP Morgan Payments' Overnight Murabaha solution to boost liquidity optimization and bolster its treasury operations. Shares of the Dubai-listed lender were 1.87% in the green at closing.