Major Gulf markets decline as financial shares weigh

• Aramco discovers two new oil and gas fields

DUBAI: Major stock markets in the Middle East ended lower on Monday, pulled down by financial shares, with the Qatari index leading the losses as most of its shares were in red.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index closed down 0.5%, with Al Rajhi Bank falling 1.5% and Banque Saudi Fransi down 2.6%.

State oil company Saudi Aramco, however, gained 1.3%. The oil giant has discovered two new oil and gas fields in the northern regions, the kingdom's energy minister said on Sunday, state news agency SPA reported.

Dubai's main share index dropped 0.7%, weighed down by a 1.8% fall in Emirates NBD Bank and a 1.7% decline in Emaar Properties.

In Abu Dhabi, the index fell 0.4%, hurt by a 1.2% drop in Emirates Telecommunications and 0.7% decrease in the country's largest lender First Abu Dhabi Bank.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) on Monday announced a 30% cut in term crude supplies in October, in order to comply with the United Arab Emirate's commitment to an OPEC+ pact, surprising buyers who had expected ADNOC to continue with the far smaller cuts of previous months. ADNOC's supply cuts helped nudge Brent crude futures to their highest levels in five months.

The Qatari index declined 0.8%, as most of the stocks on the index were in negative territory including petrochemical firm Industries Qatar, which was down 2%.

Egypt's blue-chip index lost 0.6%. Commercial International Bank retreated 1.8%, while El Sewedy Electric was down 3.9%.

Bahrain was closed for a public holiday.