Most Gulf bourses gain as Iran downplays Israel's strikes

By Ateeq Shariff

(Reuters) - Most stock markets in the Gulf ended higher on Monday as tensions eased after Iran played down Israel's strikes on military targets over the weekend, saying the air attack had caused only limited damage.

The strikes bypassed Tehran's oil and nuclear infrastructure and did not disrupt energy supplies, easing geopolitical tensions in the broader region.

And while that sent oil prices tumbling, the regional equity indexes gained. [O/R]

Dubai's main share index advanced 1.3%, led by a 3.6% jump in blue-chip developer Emaar Properties and a 2.4% rise in toll operator Salik Company.

In Abu Dhabi, the index finished 1.1% higher, with National Marine Dredging Co surging 9% after reporting a rise in third-quarter net profit, along with a special cash dividend of 2 billion dirhams ($544.53 million).

Separately, Lulu Retail Holdings, which runs one of the Middle East's biggest hypermarket chains, said on Monday it aims to raise up to 5.27 billion dirhams ($1.43 billion) in what is set to be the UAE's biggest initial public offering so far this year.

In the United Arab Emirates, the bourses trade from Monday to Friday unlike other Gulf financial markets which trade from Sunday to Thursday.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index - which gained more than 1.5% on Sunday - eased 0.1%, with the country's biggest lender Saudi National Bank losing 2%.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index lost 0.1%, hit by a 1.8% fall in Fawry for Banking Technology and Electronic Payment.

Egypt has proposed an initial two-day ceasefire in Gaza to exchange four Israeli hostages of Hamas for some Palestinian prisoners, Egypt's president said on Sunday as Israeli military strikes killed 45 Palestinians across the enclave.

SAUDI ARABIA eased 0.1% to 12,053

ABU DHABI rose 1.1% to 9,308

DUBAI gained 1.3% to 4,537

QATAR lost 0.5% to 10,504

EGYPT lost 0.1% to 30,774

BAHRAIN added 0.5% to 2,012

OMAN down 0.3% to 4,795

KUWAIT was up 0.2% to 7,610

($1 = 3.6729 UAE dirham)

(Reporting by Ateeq Shariff in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas)