Major Gulf stocks get off to mixed start on Monday

Major Gulf stocks were mixed in early trade on Monday, having rallied in the previous session buoyed by the OPEC+ group of oil producers agreeing to extend record production cuts until the end of July.

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index eased 0.1% in early trade, hurt by a 0.6% drop in oil giant Saudi Aramco and a 0.5% decline in petrochemical firm Saudi Basic Industries .

However, the index’s fall was cushioned by gains in financial stocks including Al Rajhi Bank, which was up 0.7%

Meanwhile, the value of the kingdom’s oil exports plunged by 21.9% year on year, or about $11 billion, in the first quarter to $40 billion, official data showed on Sunday.

Dubai’s index rose 0.4% in choppy trade, with Emaar Properties rising 2.5% and Emirates NBD Bank adding 0.6%.

The Abu Dhabi index fell 1.5%, pressured by a 3% drop in the country’s largest lender First Abu Dhabi Bank and a 1.2% fall in telecoms firm Etisalat.

Qatar’s index edged up 0.1%, as Qatar Islamic Bank gained 0.4%. (Reporting by Ateeq Shariff in Bengaluru; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)