Mideast Stocks: Gulf markets mixed on oil price drop; Dubai at 8-year high

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Stock markets in the Gulf ended mixed on Monday after a fall in oil prices, and financial shares dragged down the Qatari index, while Dubai stocks closed at a nearly eight-year high.

Qatar's benchmark index declined 1.6%, as most of its biggest stocks were in negative territory, including the Gulf's biggest lender Qatar National Bank, which fell 2.8%. Qatar National Bank reported a 4% drop in second-quarter net profit to 3.7 billion riyals ($1.02 billion).

Ahmed Negm, Head of Market Research MENA at XS.com, said the fall in heavyweight banking stocks could mean the market is exposed to new rounds of losses. "However, a positive performance in natural gas markets could help limit the decline," he said.

Banking falls also hit Saudi Arabia's benchmark index , which dropped 0.2% after a 0.6% decline in Al Rajhi Bank, while Saudi National Bank eased 0.1%. The kingdom's largest lender wanted to increase its stake in Credit Suisse to around 40% from 9.88%, but was prevented by Swiss regulator FINMA, Blick newspaper reported on Sunday.

UBS completed the emergency takeover of Credit Suisse last month, forging a Swiss banking and wealth management giant with a $1.6 trillion balance sheet and overseeing more than $5 trillion in assets. The deal converted Saudi National Bank's stake in Credit Suisse into just 0.5% of UBS.

In Abu Dhabi, the index fell 0.2%. Oil prices - a catalyst for the Gulf's financial markets - dipped after weak economic data from top consumers the United States and China, although expected crude supply cuts from Saudi Arabia and Russia limited losses.

Dubai's main share index rose 0.4%, hitting its highest in nearly 8 years, led by a 4.2% jump in Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corp.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index advanced 2.5%, ending four sessions of losses, buoyed by a 20% surge in Misr Fertilizers Production Co.