Most Gulf stock markets were little changed in thin trading early on Thursday, with banking and energy shares hurting Saudi Arabia while corporate earnings supported Abu Dhabi.

The Saudi stock index slipped 0.2% with Saudi British Bank shedding 1.4% and oil giant Saudi Aramco was down 0.4%.

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement said on Wednesday it had launched rockets and drone strikes at Saudi targets, including Aramco oil facilities, the group's first claim of such attacks since it offered to halt them four months ago.

Oil prices were higher after the reports but fell on Thursday, as alarm spread over the economic impact of China's coronavirus. A bigger-than-expected increase in U.S. crude stockpiles added to the pressure on prices.

Brent was down 62 cents, or 1%, at $59.19 a barrel by 0623 GMT, after rising 0.5% on Wednesday.

National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia dropped 1.9% after saying its logistics services took a hit in the fourth quarter, though it posted a higher quarterly profit.

Savola Group advanced 1.6% after the retailer posted a 137.3 million-riyal ($36.60 million) profit in the fourth quarter after losing 526 million riyals a year ago.

Dubai's index fell 0.3% as its largest bank, Emirates NBD, lost 0.7% and Dubai Islamic Bank retreated 0.4%.

In Abu Dhabi, the index rose 0.2%, driven by a 6.8% surge in International Holding. The company reported a rise in full-year profit on Wednesday. Etisalat was up 0.5%.

The Qatari index edged up 0.1%. Qatar National Bank, the Gulf's largest bank, and Qatar Islamic Bank both added 0.4%.

 

($1 = 3.7511 riyals)

(Reporting by Ateeq Shariff in Bengaluru, editing by Larry King) ((AteeqUr.Shariff@thomsonreuters.com; +918067497129;))