Mideast Stocks: Most Gulf markets little changed in quiet early trade

Mideast Stocks: Most Gulf markets little changed in quiet early trade

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  rose 0.2%, with petrochemical maker Saudi Basic Industries Corp rising 0.7% and oil giant Saudi Aramco 0.3%.But, shares of Saudi Industrial Investment Group and National Petrochemical Company 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 dropped 0.4%, weighed down by a 0.5% fall in Emirates NBD Bank and a 0.7% decrease in blue-chip developer Emaar Properties.The Abu Dhabi index slipped 0.2%, hurt by a 0.2% ease in the country's largest lender First Abu Dhabi Bank.In Qatar, the index added 0.3%, with United Development Company jumping 7.5%. Commercial Bank