Major stock markets in the Gulf were mixed in early trade on Monday, amid higher oil prices and rising hopes for an early interest rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Oil prices -- a catalyst for the Gulf's financial markets -- climbed after Saudi Arabia hiked June crude prices and as the prospect of a Gaza ceasefire deal appeared slim.
Brent was up 0.8% at $83.57 a barrel by 0810 GMT. Saudi Arabia's benchmark stock index (.TASI), opens new tab advanced 0.3%, lifted by gains in communications, healthcare, finance and utilities stocks.
Al Rajhi Bank(1120.SE), opens new tab, the world's largest Islamic lender, rose 1.1%. Bupa Arabia for Cooperative Insurance (8210.SE), opens new tab surged 7.9% after the health insurer Bupa posted a 90.6% surge in its quarterly net profit.
Dubai's benchmark stock index (.DFMGI), opens new tab was up 0.2%, supported by gains in real estate, utilities, industry and communications sectors.
Blue-chip developer Emaar Properties (EMAR.DU), opens new tab rose 1.2% and tolls operator Salik Company (SALIK.DU), opens new tab added 0.6%.
The Qatari benchmark index (.QSI), opens new tab eased 0.1%, pressured by losses in most sectors. Qatar National Bank (QNBK.QA), opens new tab, the region's largest lender, shed 0.2% and Mesaieed Petrochemical (MPHC.QA), opens new tab dropped 0.8%.
In Abu Dhabi, the benchmark stock index (.FTFADGI), opens new tab fell 0.1%, weighed down by a 5% drop in Agility Global (AGILITY.AD), opens new tab and a 1.3% decline in Multiply Group (MULTIPLY.AD), opens new tab.
Data released on Friday showed U.S. jobs growth slowed more than expected in April and annual wage gains cooled, boosting bets the Fed would implement its first rate reduction in September.
Wall Street surged on Friday after a softer-than-expected jobs report fueled hope for rate cuts from the Federal Reserve while also reflecting U.S. economic resilience. Most Gulf currencies are pegged to the dollar, and any U.S. monetary policy change is usually mimicked by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. ($1 = 3.6724 UAE dirham)
