Major Gulf markets mixed on weak oil, ahead of earnings
Oct 15 (Reuters) -Major stock markets in the Gulf were mixed in early trade on Tuesday on weakening oil even as tensions escalated in the region and as investors braced for third-quarter earnings.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark index .TASI dropped 0.1%, hit by a 0.9% fall in ACWA Power 2082.SE and a 0.6% fall in the country's biggest lender, Saudi National Bank 1180.SE.
Elsewhere, oil giant Saudi Aramco 2222.SE eased 0.4%.
Oil prices - a catalyst for the Gulf's financial markets -slid as much as $3 to a near two-week low during Asian trade on the back of a weaker demand outlook and after a Washington Post report said Israel is willing not to strike Iranian oil targets, easing fears of a supply disruption.
China's customs data showed that September oil imports were down from a year earlier, as plants curbed purchases because of weak domestic fuel demand and narrowing export margins.
In Abu Dhabi, the index .FTFADGI lost 0.3%.
Dubai's main share index .DFMGI added 0.2%, with blue-chip developer Emaar Properties EMAR.DU advancing 1.3%.
The Qatari benchmark .QSI gained 1%, led by a 1.1% rise in the Gulf's biggest lender, Qatar National Bank QNBK.QA.
Among other gainers, Islamic lender Masraf Al Rayan MARK.QA added 0.8% a day after reporting an increase in nine-month net profit.
Israel launched its offensive against Hamas after the militant group's Oct. 7 attack on Israel, in which 1,200 people were killed and around 250 taken hostage to Gaza, by Israeli tallies. More than 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in the offensive so far, according to Gaza's health authorities.
Reporting by Ateeq Shariff in Bengaluru; Editing by Sumana Nandy
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