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Most stock markets in the Gulf edged higher in early trade on Tuesday as investors focused on upcoming corporate earnings, although escalating U.S.-China trade tensions weighed on sentiment.
China slapped tariffs on U.S. imports in a swift response to new U.S. duties on Chinese goods, renewing a trade war between the world's top two economies even as President Donald Trump offered reprieves to Mexico and Canada.
Additional 10% tariff across all Chinese imports into the U.S. came into effect at 12:01 a.m. ET on Tuesday (0501 GMT) after Trump repeatedly warned Beijing it was not doing enough to halt the flow of illicit drugs into the United States.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark index added 0.2%, helped by a 1.4% rise in Al Rajhi Bank and a 0.9% increase in Alinma Bank.
The kingdom's non-oil business sector expanded at its strongest pace in just over a decade in January, driven by a surge in new orders and robust business activity, a survey showed on Tuesday.
Dubai's main share index rose 0.6%, with toll operator Salik Company climbing 2.3% and blue-chip developer Emaar Properties was up 0.7%.
Abu Dhabi's benchmark index edged up 0.2%, supported by a 1.6% gain in Borouge after it reported a sharp rise in fourth-quarter profit.
The petrochemical firm also proposed second-half dividend of 7.9 fils per share.
The Qatari index, meanwhile, slipped 0.1%, hit by a 0.5% fall in Qatar Islamic Bank.
Among other losers, utility firm Qatar Electricity and Water Company retreated 1.4% ahead of its earnings announcement.
(Reporting by Ateeq Shariff in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K)