Most major Gulf markets fall; #AbuDhabi gains | Reuters

Most major Gulf markets fall; Abu Dhabi gains | Reuters

Most major stock markets in the Gulf ended lower on Monday, with the Saudi index pressured by its financial shares, while Abu Dhabi bucked the trend.

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index slipped 0.3%, hit by a 1.5% fall in Al Rajhi Bank and a 2.2% decrease in Saudi National Bank, the kingdom’s largest lender.

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement said on Monday it had fired 17 drones and two ballistic missiles at targets in Saudi Arabia, including Saudi Aramco facilities in Jubail and Jeddah.

There was no immediate Saudi confirmation of the attack.

In Dubai, the main share index fell 0.3%, hit by a 1.6% drop in blue-chip developer Emaar Properties and a 1.7% decrease in Emaar Malls.

In the previous session, Emaar Properties gained 1.7% after its managing director on Thursday said the company achieved first-quarter sales of 6 billion dirhams ($1.63 billion), compared with 2.5 billion dirhams a year earlier.

The Abu Dhabi index rose 0.4%, supported by a 0.6% gain in the country’s largest lender First Abu Dhabi Bank.

In Qatar, the benchmark index lost 0.6%, with petrochemical firm Industries Qatar falling 1.4% and Commercial Bank retreating 3%.

However, Qatar National Bank (QNB), the biggest lender in the Gulf, added 0.6%.

On Sunday, the lender reported a first quarter net profit of 3.3 billion riyals ($906.22 million), down by 7% from a year earlier as it booked 1.4 billion riyals in “precautionary” loan-loss provisions.

However, QNB’s total assets grew by 8% from a year earlier to 1.042 trillion riyals at the end of March, the bank said in a statement.