Mideast Stocks: Qatar leads Gulf markets higher, Abu Dhabi shares fall

Mideast Stocks: Qatar leads Gulf markets higher, Abu Dhabi shares fall

Qatar's stock market on Wednesday extended its winning streak to a fifth straight session to outperform the Gulf region on strong earnings, while Abu Dhabi stocks ended lower.

Qatari index rose 0.5% as financial and materials sectors gained. Qatar's Commercial Bank surged 10% on upbeat fiscal year earnings and higher dividend. The bank reported a more than 22% rise in annual net profit to 2.81 bln-riyal ($771.98 million), beating analyst expectations of a profit of 2.34 bln riyal. It also raised annual cash dividend by 56% to 0.25 riyal per share compared with 2021.

The benchmark index in Saudi Arabia added 0.1%, helped by gains in healthcare, financial and materials stocks with Dr Sulaiman Al-Habib Medical Services surging 3% and Dallah Health rising 5.3%. The oil giant Saudi Aramco ended its six-session rally, falling 0.3%, while the world's largest Islamic bank by market capitalization Al Rajhi Bank rose 0.4%.

Crude prices, a key catalyst for Gulf financial markets, steadied on Wednesday after a decline in the previous session, with Brent crude up 7 cents, or 0.1%, at $86.06 a barrel by 1227 GMT after declining 2.3% in the previous session.

Abu Dhabi stocks fell 0.4%, with the country's biggest lender First Abu Dhabi Bank