Mideast Stocks: Most Gulf markets fall in early trade; Saudi, Qatar rise

The Commercial Bank (P.S.Q.C.)

04/09/2023 09:03

By Md Manzer Hussain
       Sept 4 (Reuters) - Most Stock markets in the Gulf
dropped in early trade on Monday amid volatile oil prices, while
Qatar and Saudi bucked the trend.
    Crude prices — a key catalyst for the Gulf's financial
markets — were volatile with Brent  LCOc1  traded down 3 cents
at $88.52 a barrel by 0648 GMT and inching up to $88.57 a barrel
by 0730 GMT.
   Dubai's benchmark stock index  .DFMGI  dropped 0.2% in early
trade, weighed down by losses in industry and utilities sectors,
with National Central Cooling  TABR.DU  slipping 2.2% and the
tolls operator Salik  SALIK.DU  dropping 0.6%.
    The emirate's largest lender Emirates NBD  ENBD.DU  lost
0.6%.
    In Abu Dhabi, the benchmark stock index  .FTFADGI  was down
0.3%, dragged down by a 1.2% loss in ADNOC Drilling
 ADNOCDRILL.AD  and 1.2% decline in ADNOC Gas  ADNOCGAS.AD .
    First Abu Dhabi Bank  FAB.AD , largest lender in the United
Arab Emirates, slipped 0.4%. 
    In Qatar, the benchmark  .QSI  added 0.4%, with Industries
Qatar  IQCD.QA  gaining 1.6% and Commercial Bank  COMB.QA 
trading 1.9% higher.
    Saudi Arabia's benchmark stock index  .TASI  was up 0.1%,
aided by gains in finance, health and materials sectors with Dr
Sulaiman Al-Habib Medical Services  4013.SE  rising 1.4% and
Saudi Basic Industries  2010.SE  gaining 1%.

 (Reporting by Md Manzer Hussain
Editing by Peter Graff)
 ((MdManzer.Hussain@thomsonreuters.com;))