Major Gulf markets mixed in early trade | Reuters

Major Gulf markets mixed in early trade | Reuters

Major Gulf stocks were mixed early on Thursday, with Saudi index on track to extend gains for a sixth straight session boosted by financial shares.

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index added 0.3%, with Al Rajhi Bank rising 0.6% and Saudi Arabian Mining Company advancing 3%.

The kingdom’s economy shrank by 3.8% in the fourth quarter compared with the same period a year earlier, preliminary government data showed on Wednesday, but it grew 2.8% on a quarterly basis.

The economy of the world’s top oil exporter contracted 4.1% in 2020, according to the preliminary estimates, hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, lower crude prices and output cuts.

Dubai’s main share index added 0.2%, supported by a 2.4% gain in Air Arabia, despite the budget airliner reporting a sharp decline in fourth-quarter net profit.

Meanwhile, oil prices, a key catalyst for the Gulf region’s financial markets, gave up some of the recent strong gains on expectations of slower economic recovery, but still above $60 a barrel. [O/R]

In Abu Dhabi, the index eased 0.2%, hit by a 0.5% fall in the United Arab Emirates’ largest lender First Abu Dhabi Bank.

The Qatari index lost 0.2%, driven down by a 0.6% fall in petrochemical maker Industries Qatar.

Qatar Petroleum has set the March official selling price (OSP) for its Marine crude at 65 cents a barrel above the average of Platts Oman and Dubai quotes, down 5 cents from the previous month, a pricing document showed on Thursday.