Major Gulf bourses dip ahead of earnings season | Reuters

Major Gulf bourses dip ahead of earnings season | Reuters

Major stock markets in the Gulf were subdued in early trade ahead of the usual flurry of quarterly and full-year corporate results over the next few weeks, with the Dubai index leading the losses.

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index fell 0.2%, driven down by a 0.4% decline for Al Rajhi Bank and a 1.2% retreat in shares of Dr Sulaiman Al-Habib Medical Services.

The kingdom’s inflation rate rose to 3.4% in 2020, government data showed, lifted by the tripling of value-added tax last year as the state sought to boost revenue hit by the coronavirus crisis and lower oil prices.

Oil prices, a key catalyst for the Gulf region’s financial markets, retreated by more than 2% on Friday as concerns about renewed Chinese coronavirus lockdowns tempered a rally driven by strong import data from the world’s biggest crude importer.[O/R]

Dubai’s main share index lost 0.4%, with Emirates NBD Bank down 0.4% while blue-chip developer Emaar properties slipped by 0.5%.

In Abu Dhabi, the index eased by 0.1% as telecoms company Etisalat and First Abu Dhabi Bank, the copuntry’s largest lender, retreated by 0.5% and 0.1% respectively.

The Qatar index also traded 0.1% lower, weighed down by a 0.4% fall for the Gulf’s biggest lender, Qatar National Bank.