Dec 29 (Reuters) - Most stock markets in the Gulf fell in early trade on Wednesday, in line with Asian shares, as investors positioned their portfolios for the new year and grappled with increasing Omicron coronavirus cases globally.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark index edged 0.2% lower, hit by a 0.3% fall in Al Rajhi Bank and a 0.1% decline in Saudi National Bank, the kingdom's biggest lender.
Coronavirus infections have started rising again across the six Gulf Arab states after months of low or falling figures, data from health ministries showed on Thursday.
The Gulf's most populous country, Saudi Arabia, registered 602 new infections on Tuesday, up from daily tallies of around 50 since late September.
In Abu Dhabi, the index fell 0.2%, with the country's largest lender, First Abu Dhabi Bank, losing 0.4% and Emirates Telecommunications Group falling 0.3%.
Dubai's main share index dropped 0.4%, weighed down by a 0.6% decline in blue-chip developer Emaar Properties.
The United Arab Emirates has approved emergency use of Sinopharm's protein-based COVID-19 vaccine which will be available to the public as a booster dose starting January 2022, the health ministry said.
The UAE, a federation of seven emirates, on Tuesday reported 1,846 new coronavirus cases, up from 68 on Dec. 2. Authorities, which did not provide a breakdown for each emirate, said around 91% of the 10 million population had been fully vaccinated.
The Qatari index lost 0.1%, with Commercial Bank declining 1.2%.
Reporting by Ateeq Shariff in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi
Source: Reuters