MIDEAST STOCKS-Major Gulf bourses gain in early trade, led by financial stocks | Nasdaq

MIDEAST STOCKS-Major Gulf bourses gain in early trade, led by financial stocks | Nasdaq:

Major stock markets in the Gulf rose in early trade on Tuesday, led by advances in financial shares, with Qatar on track to extend gains for a fourth straight session.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index .TASI rose 0.3%, with Saudi Telecom Company 7010.SE rising 0.8% and Banque Saudi Fransi 1050.SE up 0.9%.

Credit Agricole CAGR.PA sold its remaining 4% stake in Banque Saudi Fransi to two Saudi government-related institutional investors in a deal worth 1.45 billion riyals ($387 million), the French bank said on Monday.

Elsewhere, Mobile Telecommunications Company Saudi Arabia (Zain KSA) 7030.SE gained 1.1%.

The telecoms firm raised a 6-billion-riyal ($1.6 billion) loan to refinance existing debt and secure access to additional liquidity to support growth, it said in a bourse filing.

Dubai's main share index .DFMGI added 0.4%, driven by a 1.2% gain in sharia-compliant lender Dubai Islamic Bank DISB.DU and a 2.8% jump in logistic firm Aramex ARMX.DU.

On Monday, Aramex ended two sessions of losses triggered when the logistics firm confirmed last week that a portion of its warehouse facility in Morocco had been damaged in a fire.

The Abu Dhabi index .ADI gained 0.3%, helped by a 0.5%increase in the country's largest lender First Abu Dhabi Bank FAB.AD and a 0.9% rise in Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank ADCB.AD.

In Qatar, the index .QSI was up 0.7%, with Qatar National Bank QNBK.QA up 2.2%.