The United Arab Emirates cabinet has authorised the bourse regulator to ease restrictions on share buybacks in an effort to boost stocks after weeks of declines, the official WAM news agency said on Monday.

It said the move was meant to shore up share prices that have fallen due to negative sentiment from the global financial crisis rather than the fundamntals of listed companies.

The news came after the Abu Dhabi stock exchange urged listed firms to post their third-quarter results early to ease investor concerns.

Firms listed on the UAE markets are allowed to buy back up to 10 percent of their shares but previously could not begin their purchases until after posting their results.

Stock markets around the world rebounded on Monday  after a series of interest rate cuts and promises by governments to protect troubled banks. - Reuters