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DUBAI: Stock markets in the Gulf ended mixed on Sunday, with investors seeking new catalysts as optimism over the US-China trade agreement started to fade.
Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index fell 0.4%, hit by a 0.9% fall in Al Rajhi Bank and a 1% decrease in the country’s biggest lender Saudi National Bank.
Oil - a driver for the Gulf’s financial markets - settled higher on Friday, notching a second straight week of gains on easing US-China trade tensions, though prices were held back by expectations of higher supply from Iran and OPEC+.
The Qatari index gained 0.6%, led by a 2.1% rise in Qatar Islamic Bank.
Outside the Gulf, Egypt’s blue-chip index retreated 0.7%, weighed down by a 2.4% slide in tobacco monopoly Eastern Company.