MIDEAST STOCKS-Major Gulf bourses as financials weigh - Reuters

MIDEAST STOCKS-Major Gulf bourses as financials weigh - Reuters:

Financial stocks pressured major indexes in the Gulf in early trade on Thursday, with Saudi British Bank (SABB) weighing on the Saudi index.

The kingdom’s benchmark index eased 0.1%, dragged down by a 1.6% drop in Saudi British Bank and a 0.3% fall in Al Rajhi Bank.

SABB on Tuesday had reported a net loss widened to 6.87 billion riyals ($1.83 billion) in the quarter compared with a loss of 196 million riyals a year earlier, due to an impairment in goodwill worth 7.42 billion riyals.

Dubai’s main share index dropped 0.4%, with its largest lender Emirates NBD falling 2.2%, while developer DAMAC Properties was down 1.3%.

In Abu Dhabi, the index lost 0.3%, hurt by Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank’s 2.1% fall and First Abu Dhabi Bank 0.2% decrease.

The Qatari index slipped 0.2%, weighed by a 0.4% drop in Qatar National Bank and a 0.9% decline in utility firm Qatar Electricity and Water.