Major Gulf markets fall on weak oil prices | Reuters

Major Gulf markets fall on weak oil prices | Reuters

Major stock markets in the Gulf dropped in early trade on Thursday on weak oil prices with the Qatari index on course to fall for a fifth session.

Oil prices, a catalyst for Gulf markets, reclaimed some ground after falling nearly 4% overnight to their lowest settlements since June, but investors remained concerned about sluggish demand and economic slowdowns in the U.S. and China.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index (.TASI) eased 0.1%, hit by a 1.5% fall in Saudi Arabian Mining Co (1211.SE) and a 0.2% decrease in oil giant Saudi Aramco (2222.SE).

The kingdom's real gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 4.4% in the third quarter, government data showed on Thursday, as oil activity plummeted 17% compared with a year earlier following crude output cuts under OPEC+ agreements.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met to discuss further oil price cooperation on Wednesday as members of OPEC+, which may strengthen the market's confidence in the impact of output cuts.

Dubai's main share index (.DFMGI) lost 0.6%, weighed down by a 1.2% decline in top lender Emirates NBD (ENBD.DU) and a 0.8% decrease in blue-chip developer Emaar Properties (EMAR.DU).

In Abu Dhabi, the index (.FTFADGI) was down 0.4%.

The Qatari benchmark (.QSI) retreated 1%, on course to fall for a fifth session, as all its constituents were in negative territory including Qatar Islamic Bank (QISB.QA), which was down 1%.