Major Gulf bourses retreat on Gaza war | Reuters

Major Gulf bourses retreat on Gaza war | Reuters

Major stock markets in the Gulf fell in early trade on Thursday, as the region remained volatile over the Israel-Hamas war.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index (.TASI) dropped 0.4%, with digital solutions provider Elm Company (7203.SE) losing 2% and Saudi National Bank (1180.SE) retreating 2%.

Separately, the kingdom's sovereign wealth fund is set to raise $3.5 billion in a debut sale of Islamic bonds that drew strong demand, in the first major test for Middle Eastern markets since the conflict broke out.

On the other hand, Advanced Petrochemical Co (2330.SE) gained 1.9% after reporting a sharp rise in quarterly profit.

Dubai's main share index (.DFMGI) declined 0.7%, weighed down by a 3.5% decline in Emaar Properties (EMAR.DU) and a 1.7% decrease in toll operator Salik Co (SALIK.DU).

In Qatar, the index (.QSI) retreated 0.8% as most of the stocks on the index were in negative territory including Qatar National Bank (QNBK.QA), the Gulf's biggest lender, which was down 1.5%.

The Abu Dhabi index (.FTFADGI) eased 0.2%.

However, the index's losses were limited following a 1.1% rise in First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) (FAB.AD).

FAB, the United Arab Emirates' biggest lender by assets, on Thursday beat estimates with a 46% jump in third-quarter net profit, boosted by higher interest income.