Mideast Stocks: Gulf markets mixed as Qatar falls, Dubai gains

Mideast Stocks: Gulf markets mixed as Qatar falls, Dubai gains

Qatar's stock market was the worst performer among mixed Gulf bourses on Thursday amid volatile energy markets, while Dubai shares ended higher on a strong banking sector performance.

The Qatari stock index dropped 0.9%, falling for a fourth consecutive session, with most of its constituent stocks in negative territory. Index heavyweights Qatar International Islamic Bank and Qatar Islamic Bank declined 1.3% and 0.9%, respectively. Qatar's Commercial Bank dropped 3.8% and Doha Bank slumped 10%.

"The Qatari stock market maintained its downtrend following the negative performance in natural gas markets," said Fadi Reyad, chief market analyst at CAPEX.com MENA.

The benchmark index in Saudi Arabia dropped 0.8%, weighed down by losses in most sectors, led by banking and energy stocks. Shares of Alinma Bank declined 4.3% after the bank reported 32.8% growth in annual net profit to 3.60 billion riyals ($959.3 million) that missed analysts' estimate of 3.72 billion riyals. The world's largest Islamic bank by assets, Al Rajhi Bank , fell 0.7% and Dr Sulaiman Al Habib Medical declined 3.3%. Saudi oil giant Aramco lost 0.9%.

Oil prices - a key contributor to Gulf economies - fell on Thursday as looming sanctions on Russian oil products added uncertainty over supply, with Brent crude down