Most of the major Gulf stock markets moved lower in early trade on Wednesday as oil prices fell, with Abu Dhabi underperforming amongst the peers.

Oil prices dipped as hopes for a trade deal between the United States and China dimmed, after U.S. President Donald Trump fell short of providing a date or venue for the signing ceremony, weighing on the outlook for the global economy and energy demand.

Brent crude futures and West Texas Intermediate crude were down 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively.

In Abu Dhabi, the index fell for a sixth straight session and was trading 0.4% lower. Market heavyweight First Abu Dhabi Bank slipped 0.5%, while Emirates Telecommunications Group was down 0.4%.

Offsetting the losses was Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank which leapt 3.2%, its biggest intraday gain since April 9 this year. The lender said its board would consider raising limits on ownership of its shares by non-UAE locals.

Dubai's index edged down 0.3% as the courier and logistics services provider Aramex declined 2.8% and Emaar Malls dropped 1.6%.

Amlak Finance plunged 5.5%. The Islamic financing firm narrowed its loss in the third quarter, but said the accumulated losses were still at 1.35 billion dirhams ($367.57 million).

The insurer Dar Al Takaful declined 5.4% as it reported a 41% fall in its third-quarter profit.

Saudi Arabia's index was down 0.2% after four days of consecutive gains.

Saudi Basic Industries slipped 0.9% And Al Rajhi Bank was down 0.3%.

Qatar's index, however, was up 0.2% with Qatar Insurance rising 2% and Qatar Fuel adding 0.8%.

 

($1 = 3.6728 UAE dirham)

(Reporting by Maqsood Alam in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich) ((Maqsood.Alam@thomsonreuters.com;))