UAE Shares in Green as Democratic Midterm Sweep Revives Hopes for US-Iran Diplomacy

06:41 AM EST, 11/05/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Stocks in the United Arab Emirates closed higher on Thursday as the FTSE ADX General Index gained 0.617% and the DFM General Index added 0.032% at the close of trading. Boosting sentiment is the Democrats' sweeping victory in the November 2026 US midterm elections and taking control of both chambers of Congress in January 2027. Investors are now expecting the new majority to push for diplomacy and limit funding for further military operations in Iran. Meanwhile, Iran viewed the midterm results as a rejection of war. Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf posted on social media, "Americans said NO TO WAR, and we endorse this message." "How all this plays out is still highly uncertain. Therefore, the degree and speed to which the oil market has sold off seems to be overdone. One would think Trump might want to come away with some accomplishments from this war. Does he go about that through renewed strikes or striking a deal? Or by continuing to put pressure on Iran with the ongoing maritime blockade? In the lead up to the midterms, all signals pointed towards Trump resuming strikes. This is less clear now," ING analysts said. Back home, the Dubai International Financial Centre, or DIFC, partnered with Mizuho Financial Group to offer access to its DIFC Innovation Hub and Ignyte flagship digital innovation platform to up to 6,000 eligible Japanese start-ups. On the corporate side, Al Khaleej Investment (ADX:KICO) returned to attributable profit in the third quarter. The Abu Dhabi-listed real estate and investment company shares were flat at the close of the session. Emirates Central Cooling Systems (DFM:EMPOWER), d/b/a Empower, reported higher third-quarter attributable profit of 292 million Emirati dirhams driven by a 4.7% year-over-year revenue growth. The cooling services company's shares gained 3.63% at close.