MIDEAST STOCKS Major Gulf markets end mixed; blue-chips buoy Egypt | Reuters

MIDEAST STOCKS Major Gulf markets end mixed; blue-chips buoy Egypt | Reuters

Major Gulf stock markets ended mixed on Sunday, with Qatar registering sharp losses following a surge in the previous session when it removed a cap on foreign ownership, while blue-chip Egyptian shares boosted the main index.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index (.TASI) finished up 0.6%, extending gains from the previous day, with Saudi Telecom Company (7010.SE) rising 1.7%, while Al Rajhi Bank (1120.SE) was up 0.3%.

Meanwhile, Saudi and Iranian officials held direct talks this month in a bid to ease tensions between the two foes, a senior Iranian official and two regional sources said, as Washington works to revive a 2015 nuclear pact with Tehran and end the Yemen war.

The Qatari index (.QSI) retreated 1.3%, with petrochemical firm Industries Qatar (IQCD.QA) losing 2.3%, while Commercial Bank (COMB.QA) slid 3.6%.

In the previous session, Qatar's index saw its biggest intraday gain in over a year after its cabinet approved a bill to allow non-Qatari investors to own up to 100% of listed companies' capital.

The cabinet also decided to keep central bank liquidity support for local banks based on need as the country faces a second wave of coronavirus infections.

Dubai's main share index (.DFMGI) edged up 0.1%, helped by a 1.8% rise in Emaar Properties (EMAR.DU).

Emaar Properties, Dubai's largest listed real estate developer, will go ex-dividend on Tuesday.

The managing director of Emaar said earlier this month that the company had first-quarter sales of 6 billion dirhams, up from 2.5 billion dirhams a year earlier.

In Abu Dhabi, the benchmark (.ADI) gave up early gains to close 0.1% lower, hit by a 0.7% fall in the country's largest lender First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB.AD).