Mideast Stocks: Most Gulf bourses fall; Abu Dhabi gains

Mideast Stocks: Most Gulf bourses fall; Abu Dhabi gains

Most stock markets in the Gulf closed lower on Sunday, with the Saudi index ending five sessions of gains, although the Abu Dhabi index bucked the trend to finish higher. Saudi Arabia's benchmark index dropped 0.4%, weighed down by a 3.3% fall in Saudi Telecom Company (STC). The Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, is considering selling part of its 70% stake in STC while retaining majority ownership, the state fund said on Thursday. In Abu Dhabi, the index gained 0.3%, with the country's largest lender First Abu Dhabi Bank rising 1.2%. Elsewhere, shares of ADNOC Drilling jumped more than 28% as the unit of Abu Dhabi oil giant ADNOC started trading on Sunday after its $1.1 billion initial public offering (IPO), the largest ever on the Abu Dhabi stock market. The IPO is the latest move by Gulf oil giants ADNOC and Saudi Aramco to raise cash from outside investors as they try to diversify sources of income in their oil-dependent economies. Dubai's main share index fell 0.4%, dragged down by a 2% slide in blue-chip developer Emaar Properties and a 2.1% decline in Emaar Development. Dubai ports giant DP World sees no early end to disruptions