Gulf markets fall after oil pulls back

Gulf stock markets fell in early trade on Monday after oil prices retreated again and China dragged down Asian equities. Brent crude slipped 1.3 per cent to $49.41 per barrel on Monday morning as traders took profits after last week's rebound. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged down 0.4 per cent and China's Shanghai index was down 1 per cent. Dubai's index fell 1.1 per cent with most stocks in the red. Developer DAMAC was the most traded stock, falling 0.9 per cent after a 7.0 per cent surge in the previous session. Abu Dhabi's benchmark lost 0.4 per cent in another broad pull-back. Qatar's bourse slipped 0.3 per cent. However, Commercial Bank of Qatar, another Doha stock whose weighting is set to increase, was down 0.7 per cent. Kuwait's bourse fell 0.8 per cent, Oman's 0.4 per cent, according to Reuters.

-Shuvo-