MIDEAST STOCKS Most Gulf bourses drop in early trade | Reuters

MIDEAST STOCKS Most Gulf bourses drop in early trade | Reuters

Most major stock markets in the Gulf were subdued on Sunday, pressured by Friday's fall in oil prices after a weaker than expected U.S. jobs report indicated a patchy economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Brent crude futures settled fell by 42 cents, or 0.6%, to $72.61 a barrel.

In Abu Dhabi, the stock market index (.ADI) dropped 0.5% as telecoms company Etisalat (ETISALAT.AD) fell by 1.9% to remain on track to extend losses for a third session.

Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi removed the need to quarantine for all vaccinated travellers arriving from international destinations from Sunday. read more

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index (.TASI), however, traded flat in a choppy trade.

The kingdom's non-oil private sector continued to grow in August but lost momentum with a sharp drop in output growth, a business survey showed. read more

Dubai's main share index (.TASI) eased by 0.1%, with Emirates NBD Bank (ENBD.DU) down 0.4% while budget airline Air Arabia (AIRA.DU) added 0.3% after Friday's announcement that it would launch a low-cost carrier in partnership with Pakistan's Lakson Group to serve domestic and international routes from Pakistan. read more

The new carrier, Fly Jinnah, will operate as a joint venture, the companies said in a statement, adopting the low-cost model operated by Air Arabia.

The Qatari benchmark (.QSI) lost 0.1%, with petrochemicals company Industries Qatar (IQCD.QA) dropping 0.6%.