Credit: REUTERS/CHRISTOPHER PIKESept 21 (Reuters) - Most Gulf stock markets were little changed in thin trading early on Monday, with banking shares hurting Dubai while petrochemical stocks supported Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabian benchmark index .TASI rose 0.2%, with petrochemical maker Saudi Basic Industries Corp 2010.SE rising 0.7% and oil giant Saudi Aramco 2222.SE 0.3%.
But, shares of Saudi Industrial Investment Group 2250.SE and National Petrochemical Company 2002.SE retreated 1.9% and 2%, respectively. On Sunday, the shares had surged on news the two were in merger talks.
Dubai's main share index .DFMGI dropped 0.4%, weighed down by a 0.5% fall in Emirates NBD Bank ENBD.DU and a 0.7% decrease in blue-chip developer Emaar Properties EMAR.DU.
The Abu Dhabi index .ADI slipped 0.2%, hurt by a 0.2% ease in the country's largest lender First Abu Dhabi Bank FAB.AD.
In Qatar, the index .QSI added 0.3%, with United Development Company UDCD.QA jumping 7.5%. Commercial Bank COMB.QA edged up 0.1%. The lender closed a dual-tranche $227.5 million syndicated term loan facility.
(Reporting by Ateeq Shariff in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V)
((AteeqUr.Shariff@thomsonreuters.com; +918061822788;))
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
