Most Gulf stock markets edged higher in early trade on Wednesday, ​as investors ⁠watched the fragile Middle East ceasefire and the ‌upcoming high-stakes meeting in China between U.S. President Donald ​Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent ​has said that ​the two presidents will discuss the Iran war, and urged China to "join us in this ⁠international operation" to open the Strait of Hormuz to international shipping.

But while Beijing worked behind the scenes to convince Iran to hold peace talks ​with ‌the U.S. ⁠in Pakistan ⁠last month, analysts say it would not act solely at ​Washington’s behest.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index ‌gained 0.2%, with Al Rajhi ⁠Bank rising 0.8% and the country's biggest lender, Saudi National Bank , increasing 0.5%. In Abu Dhabi, the index added 0.3%, with ADNOC Drilling advancing 1.6% after its CFO told Reuters on Tuesday that the company is prepared to help expand the UAE's oil production capacity beyond its current target ‌of 5 million barrels per day by 2027, ⁠if approved.

The Qatari index edged ​0.1% higher.

Meanwhile, Brent crude futures dropped $1.47, or 1.4%, to $106.30 a barrel at 0630 GMT.

Dubai's main share ​index declined ‌0.7%, with blue-chip developer Emaar Properties ⁠losing 1%.

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