Most major Gulf shares opened lower early on Tuesday, weighed down by weak corporate earnings announcements, though property shares helped Dubai buck the trend.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index edged down 0.1%, hurt by a 6.9% plunge in telecoms firm Etihad Etisalat and a 0.5% decrease in oil giant Saudi Aramco.

The telco posted an annual profit of 31 million riyals ($8.27 million), from a loss of 123 million riyals a year earlier. However, the profit was lower than analysts' average estimate of 194 million riyals, according to Refinitiv data.

Dubai's main share index  added 0.4%, extending gains for a fourth day in a row. Emaar Properties climbed 2.3% and DAMAC Properties was up 0.4%.

In Qatar, the index dipped 0.3% with Doha Bank plunging 10%, its biggest intraday fall since March 2018. The lender reported profits of 754 million riyals ($207.14 million) in 2019, down from 830 million riyals a year earlier.

Qatar's losses were capped by gains at energy shipping and transport firm Naqilat, which advanced 2.8% after the firm recorded a 12.4% rise in 2019 profit.

The Abu Dhabi index slipped 0.3%, driven down by its banking shares. First Abu Dhabi Bank and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank lost 0.3% and 0.7% respectively.

 

($1 = 3.6400 Qatar riyals)

($1 = 3.7505 riyals)

(Reporting by Ateeq Shariff in Bengaluru; Editing by Andrew Heavens) ((AteeqUr.Shariff@thomsonreuters.com; +918067497129;))