Major Gulf markets dip as financials decline

Major stock markets in the Gulf fell in early trade on Thursday, hurt by losses in banking shares, with Dubai stocks falling the most.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index slipped 0.3%, with National Commercial Bank losing 1% and Samba Financial Group shedding 1.2%.

The lenders gained in the previous sessions after they entered a binding merger agreement to create a combined entity with 837 billion riyals ($223.15 billion) in assets.


Dubai's main share index declined 0.7%, driven down by a 2.4% fall in Emirates NBD Bank and a 1.1% decrease in Emaar Properties.

The Abu Dhabi index lost 0.3%, pressured by a 0.7% drop in First Abu Dhabi Bank.

The United Arab Emirates' largest lender on Wednesday denied a local news report that said it was in merger talks with Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank.

Shares of Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank were up 0.5% on Thursday.

In Qatar, the index lost 0.4%, with Qatar Islamic Bank and petrochemical firm Industries Qatar dropping 0.9% and 0.8%, respectively.

Qatar Islamic Bank reported a net profit of 2.22 billion riyals ($609.89 million) for the nine months ended Sept. 30, compared with 2.22 billion riyals a year earlier.