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Most major stock markets in the Gulf rose in early trade on Wednesday, boosted by Ukraine's readiness to support a proposal for a 30-day ceasefire with Russia, although investors remained cautious about the impact of U.S. tariffs.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark index nudged 0.1% higher, helped by a 2.7% rise in Dr Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Services .
Oil giant Saudi Aramco eased 0.2%. Fitch Ratings expects Saudi Arabia's deficit to widen as Aramco's dividend normalizes.
Dubai's main share index gained 0.4%, with blue-chip developer Emaar Properties rising 1.2% and sharia-compliant lender Dubai Islamic Bank putting on 1.9%.
In Abu Dhabi, the index added 0.1%.
Investors are waiting for U.S. Consumer Price Index data at 1230 GMT to gauge the Federal Reserve's next move on interest rates.
Monetary policy in the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council is usually guided by the Fed's decisions, as most regional currencies are pegged to the dollar.
The Qatari index fell 0.6%, weighed down by a 5.5% slide in telecom firm Ooredoo, as the stock traded ex-dividend.
(Reporting by Ateeq Shariff in Bengaluru; Editing by Andrew Heavens)