Mideast Stocks: Most major Gulf markets decline; #Qatar falls to over 2-month low | ZAWYA MENA Edition

Mideast Stocks: Most major Gulf markets decline; Qatar falls to over 2-month low | ZAWYA MENA Edition:

Most major gulf stock markets slipped in early trade on Thursday after a slew of poor corporate earnings, with Qatar's index falling the most among regional equities.

The Qatari index dropped 0.7% to a more than two-month low. United Development slumped 10% after reporting a nearly 16% drop in its annual profit. 


The Gulf's largest lender Qatar National Bank lost 0.9%.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index ticked down 0.2%, as lender Banque Saudi Fransi dropped 5% to become the top loser on the index after it missed full-year profit estimates.

The lender said annual profit rose to 3.12 billion riyals ($831.69 million) from 1.4 billion riyals a year ago. However, the figure was lower than an average analyst estimate of 3.35 billion riyals, according to Refinitiv IBES data.