JEDDAH: Most Gulf equity markets fell on Thursday as volatile oil gave up early gains and slid on weak Japanese data, while concerns about a major Saudi Arabian construction firm also weighed on the Riyadh stock exchange.

The main Saudi Tadawul All-Share Index fell 0.7 percent with Alinma Bank, down 5.1 percent, one of the main drags.

Another lender, Al-Rajhi, fell 0.9 percent while National Commercial Bank dropped 2.7 percent.

The Banks and Financial Services index dropped 1.62 percent.

Analysts said there could be concerns about banks’ exposure to construction giant Saudi Binladin Group, which has been suspended from new contracts.

“I think there are worries from the Binladin investigation,” said a Saudi analyst.

“Binladin is a major contractor and it has exposure to several, if not most, banks in the Kingdom. It’s a sentiment reaction ... and I personally doubt that it will be removed from the construction scene,” he added.

“There might be redistribution of work, maybe new contractors will pick some of its work, but I don’t think it will collapse.”

Other Gulf markets also edged down with the exception of Dubai whose index climbed 0.8 percent. Developer DAMAC, the most traded stock, rose 1.4 percent and its larger competitor Emaar Properties climbed 0.6 percent. DAMAC shareholders this week approved its first cash dividend since the firm listed in Dubai in January.

Abu Dhabi’s benchmark closed 1.2 percent lower as heavyweight telecommunications firm Etisalat fell 1.7 percent. The stock had surged ahead of opening up to foreign and institutional investors on Sept.15 and investors have since been booking profits.

Qatar’s market fell 1.2 percent as Qatar National Bank pulled back 2.4 percent and petrochemicals giant Industries Qatar dropped 2.3 percent.

Egypt’s market closed nearly flat after rising for four sessions in a row, ahead of a monthly central bank meeting to determine interest rate policy.

Also, most markets in the Middle East will be closed from Wednesday next week for the holiday of Eid Al-Adha and investors may be staying in cash in the meantime.