Major Gulf equity markets fell in early trade on Tuesday after the U.S. ​waived sanctions ⁠on Iran and bets grew on more aggressive U.S. ‌Federal Reserve action against inflation later this year.

The United States'waiver on ​Monday allows Iran to sell oil for 60 days as part of ​a fledgling ​peace deal to end the hostilities in the Middle East, triggering a more than 3% drop in ⁠oil prices, a catalyst for the Gulf's financial markets.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance said progress had been made in talks with Iran and that the Strait of Hormuz was ​open.

On Tuesday, ‌Brent crude ⁠futures fell $1.09, ⁠or 1.4%, to $76.81 a barrel.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index eased 0.2%, hit by ​a 0.3% fall in Al Rajhi Bank

The ‌Qatari index was down 0.1%, ⁠with Qatar Islamic Bank losing 0.2%. Also adding to the market pressure globally areincreased expectations of the Fed accelerating its rate-hike schedule under the leadership of new Chair Kevin Warsh.

Fed funds futures are pricing an implied 54% probability of at least two 25-basis-point hikes before the end of the year, compared with a 15.2% chance a week ago, ‌according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool.

Gulf markets tend ⁠to track shifts in U.S. monetary ​policy expectations as most regional currencies are pegged to the dollar.

Dubai's main share index retreated 1.1%, dragged down by a 2.7% ​slide in ‌top lender Emirates NBD .

In Abu Dhabi, the ⁠index lost 0.5%.

(Reporting by ​Ateeq Shariff in Bengaluru; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair)