Qatar's stock market rose in early trade on Tuesday, bolstered by gains in market heavyweight Industries Qatar, while other major Gulf bourses were subdued.
In Qatar, the benchmark gained 0.5%, bolstered by a 3% leap in Industries Qatar, on track to extend gains from the previous session when the petrochemical maker reported a higher net profit for the quarter ended March 31.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark index eased 0.2%, with Saudi Telecom Company losing 0.9% and Saudi Arabian Mining Company declining 1.7%.
Elsewhere, Saudi Arabia's national shipping firm, Bahri slid 2.5% after its board approved a new dividend policy which aims to pay one riyal per share semiannually for the next three years starting from 2020.
The OPEC+ joint technical committee (JTC) has kept its forecast for growth in global oil demand this year, but is concerned about surging COVID-19 cases in India and elsewhere, Reuters reported, citing three sources from the producer group.
The movement in oil prices is a key catalyst for the Gulf region's financial markets.
In Dubai, the main share index fell 0.4%, hit by a 0.8% drop in top lender Emirates NBD and 0.7% decrease in sharia-compliant lender Dubai Islamic Bank.
Among others, Islamic Arab Insurance declined over 8%, to become the top loser on the index, as the insurer went ex-dividend.
The Abu Dhabi index lost 0.5%, with First Abu Dhabi Bank, the country's largest lender, dropping 0.7%, while telecoms firm Etisalat retreated 0.9%.
(Reporting by Ateeq Shariff in Bengaluru, Editing by William Maclean) ((AteeqUr.Shariff@thomsonreuters.com; +918061822788;))
