MIDEAST STOCKS- #Saudi leads losses in morning trade | Nasdaq

MIDEAST STOCKS-Saudi leads losses in morning trade | Nasdaq

Most major Gulf markets struggled in the final trading session of the week on Thursday, as a rally fuelled by optimism around COVID-19 vaccine developments lost steam.

Financial markets globally have gained in most sessions over the past couple of weeks as U.S. drugmakers Pfizer Inc PFE.N and Moderna Inc MRNA.O, and British firm AstraZeneca AZN.L released positive data on the effectiveness of their vaccine candidates.

Investors are optimistic that progress made on the vaccine front would help economies worldwide recover at a faster pace than expected.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index .TASI fell about 0.6% after a four-session winning run but was on track to eke out a fourth straight weekly gain.

Financial stocks dragged down the index with the top three losers belonging to that sector.

Al-Rajhi Bank 1120.SE and National Commercial Bank 1180.SE declined 0.4% and 1%, respectively.

Dubai's main share index .DFMGI retreated 0.4%, with top lender Emirates NBD ENBD.DU and real estate stock Emaar Properties EMAR.DU declining 0.9% and 1.5%, respectively.

The Dubai benchmark has gained for the past four sessions in a row.

The Abu Dhabi index .ADI eased 0.4%, with First Abu Dhabi Bank FAB.AD and telecom major Emirates Telecom ETISALAT.AD shedding 0.5% and 0.4%, respectively.

In Qatar, the index .QSI edged down 0.1%, with Industries Qatar IQCD.QA shedding 1.4%.