Gulf stocks move little in thin trade

Gulf stocks moved little in early, thin trade Monday as a fresh decline in oil prices and a retreat in Asian share markets kept buyers away.

Dubai’s index was flat as stocks mainly traded by local investors were the top movers. Insurer Takaful Emarat Insurance gained 3.4 percent but Ajman Bank fell 1.3 percent.

In Abu Dhabi, the index edged up 0.3 percent with gainers outnumbering losers 12 to three. Union National Bank added 1.4 percent and First Gulf Bank rose 0.4 percent.

Declines in some large-cap shares weighed on Qatar’s main index, which slipped 0.1 percent. Islamic bank Masraf Al Rayan lost 0.1 percent and real estate developer Ezdan Holding dropped 0.4 percent.

Saudi Arabia’s equities index moved little. Saudi International Petrochemical (Sipchem) dropped 1.8 percent but some banking shares, which have been under pressure over the last several weeks because of the slump in the construction sector, edged up with Samba Financial adding 0.6 percent.

Source: Reuters