By Ateeq Shariff
Most stock markets in the Gulf ended lower on Thursday amid persistently weak oil prices and a string of lackluster corporate earnings reports.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark index TADAWUL:TASI dropped 0.7%, hit by a 0.6% fall in Al Rajhi Bank TADAWUL:1120 and a 1.4% decrease in Saudi National Bank TADAWUL:1180.
Elsewhere, oil behemoth Saudi Aramco TADAWUL:2222 lost 0.4%.
Oil prices - a catalyst for the Gulf's financial markets - edged up on Thursday, taking a break after major losses in the previous session, as investors weighed concerns about global oversupply with looming sanctions against Russia's Lukoil.
The world oil market will see a small surplus in 2026 after OPEC+ production increases and higher supply from other producers, an OPEC report showed on Wednesday, a further shift from its earlier projections of a deficit.
Dubai's main share index DFM:DFMGI retreated 0.8%, weighed down by a 4.7% slide in Emirates NBD DFM:EMIRATESNBD, while Salik Company DFM:SALIK was down 1.9%. The toll operator reported a year-over-year increase in third-quarter net profit, but experienced a sequential decline from the previous quarter.
In Abu Dhabi, the index ADX:FADGI lost 0.4%, with Presight AI Holding ADX:PRESIGHT plunging 9.8%, despite reporting a rise in quarterly profit.
The Qatari index QSE:GNRI tumbled 1.1%, with Qatar Islamic Bank QSE:QIBK declining 2.4%.
Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index EGX:EGX30 eased 0.1%, with Commercial International Bank EGX:COMI falling 1.7%.
Saudi Arabia
TADAWUL:TASI fell 0.7% to 11,178
Abu Dhabi
ADX:FADGI lost 0.3% to 9,961
Dubai
DFM:DFMGI dropped 0.8% to 5,991
Qatar
QSE:GNRI declined 1.1% to 11,082
Egypt
EGX:EGX30 eased 0.1% to 40,191
Bahrain
BAHRAIN:BHBX was down 0.4% to 2,066
Oman
(.MSX30) added 0.1% to 5,723
Kuwait
(.BKP) finished flat at 9,443