DUBAI - Qatar's stock market continued to rebound from a five-year low in early trade on Monday, while other bourses in the Gulf were generally steady.

Qatar's index, which had tumbled as much as 1.6 percent on Sunday but finished 0.1 percent higher, hit 8,230 points in early trade on Monday, gaining more than 1 percent.

That suggested a technical rebound might be starting, although sentiment is likely to remain very cautious while the sanctions by four Arab states continue to weigh on the economy.

Qatar National Bank rose 0.7 percent and Islamic lender Masraf al Rayan climbed 1.4 percent.

United Arab Emirates-listed shares of Sudanese companies lost steam after soaring 15 percent on Sunday in response to the lifting of U.S. sanctions on Sudan. Abu Dhabi-listed Sudatel Telecom rose 1.4 percent and Al Salam Bank Sudan retreated 3.7 percent.

Confirming market rumours, Omantel said it had signed a non-binding letter of intent with a vehicle of Kuwait's Al Kharafi family to buy a further 12 percent of telecommunications firm Zain .

The possible price was not specified, but Zain rose 2.6 percent to 0.564 dinar in active trade while Omantel was up 0.4 percent.

The main Saudi index was down 0.1 percent after 45 minutes of trade although retailer Jarir Marketing added 0.5 percent after saying third-quarter net profit rose 13 percent from a year earlier.

The Dubai index was flat although builder Drake & Scull , which has been rising strongly in heavy trade since it completed a capital restructuring last week, rose a further 2.8 percent and was the most active stock.

(Reporting By Aziz El Yaakoubi; Editing by Andrew Torchia and Andrew Heavens) ((aziz.elyaakoubi@thomsonreuters.com; +971552994086)(;))