Most major Gulf stock markets were slightly up in early trade on Monday, with Abu Dhabi gaining on corporate earnings, while Saudi Arabia was supported by project expansion announcements from Dr. Sulaiman Al-Habib Medical Services Group and consumer food and beverages firm Almarai.
Abu Dhabi's benchmark index was up 0.2% as Emirates Telecommunications Group advanced 1%, extending gains from the previous session after the telecom operator reported nearly 8% increase in first-quarter profit on Thursday.
Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank rose 1.2%. The Islamic lender on Sunday reported 125.3% jump in first-quarter profit to 607.6 million dirhams ($165.45).
Saudi Arabia's benchmark index edged up 0.1%, supported by a 0.2% gain in Al Rajhi Bank and a 0.7% rise in Dr. Sulaiman Al-Habib Medical Services Group. Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib announced a new hospital project with an estimated cost of 458 million riyals ($122.15 million).
Among other gainers, Almarai rose 1.7% after the firm said it would invest 6.6 billion riyals to expand the poultry segment.
The Dubai index was up 0.7% as Emaar Properties rose 1.8%. Dubai Islamic Bank gained 0.9% after four days of consecutive falls following a 23% decline in first-quarter profit
Qatar's Index slipped 0.1%, dragged down by Industries Qatar, which fell 0.7%, its fourth session of declines.
($1 = 3.6724 UAE dirham)
($1 = 3.7494 riyals)
(Reporting by Maqsood Alam in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi) ((Maqsood.Alam@thomsonreuters.com;))
