Major Gulf markets ease on global trade war concerns

By Ateeq Shariff

(Reuters) - Major stock markets in the Gulf fell in early trade on Monday as U.S. import tariffs sparked concerns over global economic growth, causing investors to shy away from riskier assets.

U.S. President Donald Trump, in a Fox News interview on Sunday, declined to predict whether his tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico would result in a U.S. recession.

Tariffs have been a key concern for investors, with many believing that they can hurt economic growth and be inflationary.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index dropped 0.6%, hit by a 2.1% fall in ACWA Power Company and a 2.2% decrease in Saudi Arabian Mining Company.

Elsewhere, oil giant Saudi Aramco was down 0.6%.

Oil prices - a catalyst for the Gulf's financial markets - fell on concerns over U.S. tariffs' impact on global growth and rising OPEC+ output.

However, Derayah Financial surged 30% in debut trade - the maximum daily limit allowed by Tadawul for newly listed stocks during their first three days of trading.

Dubai's main share index retreated 0.7%, with blue-chip developer Emaar Properties losing 1.1% and toll operator Salik declining 1.8%.

In Abu Dhabi, the index eased 0.1%.

A run of soft U.S. economic data continued on Friday after monthly figures showed the labour market created fewer jobs than expected in February, in the first payrolls report capturing Trump's policies.

Investors now await the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) data due on Wednesday and Producer Price Index (PPI) data expected on Thursday, to gauge the Federal Reserve's interest rate stance.

Monetary policy in the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is usually guided by the Fed's decisions, as most regional currencies are pegged to the dollar.

The Qatari index fell 0.4%, with the Gulf's biggest lender Qatar National Bank dropping 0.3%.

(Reporting by Ateeq Shariff in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)