Major Gulf stocks were mixed in early trade on Thursday, with the Saudi Arabia index on track to gain for a fourth consecutive session, buoyed by banking shares.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark index edged up 0.1%, with Al Rajhi Bank gaining 0.6% and Saudi National Bank advancing 0.4%.
Separately, Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, said on Tuesday it has established two deputy governor roles to support the $430 billion fund's continued growth and expansion.
The fund is expected to inject at least $40 billion annually into the local economy until 2025, and increase its assets to $1 trillion by that date.
Pressured by financials and property shares, Dubai's index slid 0.2%, extending losses to a third day in a row, with sharia-compliant lender Dubai Islamic Bank declining 0.8% and blue-chip developer Emaar Properties shedding 0.3%.
In Abu Dhabi, the index fell 0.2%, snapping four consecutive sessions gains, as market heavyweight First Abu Dhabi Bank decreased 0.5% and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank declined 1.4%.
Elsewhere, Abu Dhabi state investor Mubadala said on Tuesday it has joined a consortium led by U.S.-based EIG Global Energy Partners that had agreed to buy a 49% equity stake in Aramco Oil Pipelines Co.
Qatar's index edged up 0.1%, helped by a 1.3 gain in petrochemical maker Industries Qatar and a 0.6% rise in the Gulf's largest lender, Qatar National Bank (QNB).
($1 = 3.7503 riyals)
($1 = 3.6728 UAE dirham)
(Reporting by Shamsuddin Mohd in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath) ((shamsuddin.mohd@thomsonreuters.com; +918067497252;))
