Mideast Stocks: Gulf markets mixed amid rising Ukraine tensions

Mideast Stocks: Gulf markets mixed amid rising Ukraine tensions

Stock markets in the Gulf ended mixed on Tuesday as investors clung to hopes that Moscow's deployment of troops to two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine will be as far Russia goes.

The spectre of war on Europe's eastern flank had flared on Monday, sending oil prices to a seven-year high, after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine.

The United States and its European allies started to announce harsh new sanctions in response, with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warning that the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline would now be denied certification to begin operating.

Dubai's main share index edged 0.1% lower, with Emirates Integrated Telecommunications losing 0.5%.

Separately, Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA) expects to launch its initial public offering next month, with a listing on the Dubai Financial Market likely to be in April, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing sources.

The company plans to offer at least 5% of its shares to investors, said the sources, while one of them said the offering could go up to 10%.

In Abu Dhabi, the index reversed early losses to close 0.6% higher, with the country's largest lender, First Abu Dhabi Bank, rising 0.5%.

Egypt's largest investment bank, EFG Hermes,