Major stock markets in the Gulf were mixed in early trade on Thursday on expectations the global rate easing cycle may not come as early as some had initially thought.

Stronger U.S. retail sales data on Wednesday boosted bets that the Federal Reserve may not quickly move to slash interest rates, with the CME FedWatch tool showing a roughly 60% chance of a cut in March, down from about 70% a month ago.

Fed Governor Christopher Waller said earlier this week the U.S. is "within striking distance" of the central bank's 2% inflation goal, but it should not rush toward rate cuts until it is clear that lower inflation will sustain.

Most Gulf currencies are pegged to the dollar and any monetary policy change in the United States is usually mimicked by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index dropped 0.4%, dragged by a 1.8% fall in Etihad Atheeb Telecommunication Co and a 1.6% decrease in auto rental firm Lumi.

Meanwhile, oil giant Saudi Aramco advanced 0.9%.

Aramco said on Wednesday it has boosted its Aramco Ventures unit by $4 billion, more than doubling the oil giant's overall venture capital funding.

Dubai's main share index eased 0.3%, with blue-chip developer Emaar Properties losing 0.7%, and top lender Emirates NBD falling 0.6%.

In Abu Dhabi, the index added 0.2%, helped by a 0.7% rise in the country's biggest lender First Abu Dhabi Bank .

Oil prices - a catalyst for the Gulf's financial markets - rose as OPEC forecast relatively strong growth in global oil demand over the next two years and the market eyed disrupted U.S. oil production amid a cold blast, as well as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

The Qatari index gained 0.3%, led by a 1% gain in the Gulf's biggest lender Qatar National Bank and a 2.3% increase in telco Ooredoo.

(Reporting by Ateeq Shariff in Bengaluru; Editing by Eileen Soreng)