Major Gulf bourses gain in early trade; #Saudi falls | Reuters

Major Gulf bourses gain in early trade; Saudi falls | Reuters

Most major stock markets in the Gulf rose in early trade on Monday with higher oil prices, while the Saudi index retreated, threatening to end a four-day winning streak.

Oil prices hit their highest level in years as demand recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, boosted by more custom from power generators turning away from expensive gas and coal to fuel oil and diesel.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index (.TASI) fell 0.4%, weighed down by a 1.4% drop in petrochemical maker Saudi Basic Industries (2010.SE) and a 4.8% slide in Yanbu National Petrochemicals Co (Yansab) (2290.SE).

Yansab reported a quarterly net profit of 179.8 million riyals ($47.94 million), down from 195.6 million riyals a year earlier.

Dubai's main share index (.DFMGI) added 0.2%, helped by a 0.5% rise in blue-chip developer Emaar Properties (EMAR.DU) and a 1.6% rise in logistic firm Aramex (ARMX.DU).

In Abu Dhabi, the index (.ADI) gained 0.3%, with the country's largest lender First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB.AD) adding 0.7%, while Response Plus Holding (RPM.AD) climbed 1.5% after swinging to a quarterly profit.

The United Arab Emirates on Sunday recorded a drop in daily COVID-19 cases to below 100 for the first time since the start of the outbreak last year as it hosts a huge world fair to which it hopes to attract millions of visits. read more

The Qatari benchmark (.QSI) inched 0.1% higher, with sharia-compliant lender Masraf Al Rayan (MARK.QA) rising 1.1% and Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) (QISB.QA) adding 0.2%.

On Sunday, QIB reported a net profit of 2.53 billion riyals ($694.75 million) for the nine months ended Sept. 30, a 13.9% increase compared to same period year before.