Stock markets in the Gulf ended mixed on Sunday, with investors seeking new catalysts as optimism over the U.S.-China trade agreement started to fade.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index fell 0.4%, hit by a 0.9% fall in Al Rajhi Bank and a 1% decrease in the country's biggest lender Saudi National Bank. Oil - a driver for the Gulf's financial markets - settled higher on Friday, notching a second straight week of gains on easing U.S.-China trade tensions, though prices were held back by expectations of higher supply from Iran and OPEC+.

The Qatari index gained 0.6%, led by a 2.1% rise in Qatar Islamic Bank. Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index retreated 0.7%, weighed down by a 2.4% slide in tobacco monopoly Eastern Company.

SAUDI ARABIA lost 0.4% to 11,439

QATAR gained 0.6% to 10,575

EGYPT down 0.7% to 31,714

BAHRAIN finished flat at 1,921

OMAN added 0.6% to 4,436

KUWAIT dropped 0.3% to 8,735

(Reporting by Ateeq Shariff in Bengaluru; Editing by Helen Popper)


Reuters