Mideast stocks little changed; Dubai ends 10-day rally

Mideast stocks little changed on Thursday, while Dubai's stocks slid as most of its financial shares dropped, snapping a 10-day winning streak.

The Dubai index fell 0.6 per cent, led by a 1.7 per cent fall in Emirates NBD, ahead of its board meeting scheduled on April 16 to approve its first-quarter financial statement.

Emirates NBD sold 127.5 million shares in the payment processor, reducing its stake to 25.5 per cent lower, report Reuters.

Mashreq Bank dropped 6.8 per cent. Last week, the bank's retail head said the bank would close 12 branches as it makes a shift towards online banking.

Qatar's blue-chip index was up 0.2 per cent, with Qatar Islamic Bank increasing 2.5 per cent to its highest level in over a decade.

Qatar National Bank dipped 0.6 per cent. The lender reported its first-quarter results on Tuesday, missing EFG Hermes' forecast.

The Abu Dhabi index closed 0.1 per cent lower, as First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) fell 0.7 per cent.

ADNOC Distribution dropped 3.2 per cent as the stock traded ex-dividend.

Saudi Arabia's index rose 0.1 per cent, with Jareer Marketing gaining 3.2 per cent.

National Industrialization Company (Tasnee) was up 2.8 per cent, to its highest since August 2018.

Cristal will receive a cash consideration of $1.67 billion and a 24 per cent equity stake in Tronox.

The Egyptian index traded flat with Egypt Kuwait Holding declining 4.8 per cent.