DUBAI: Saudi Arabia’s stock market ended slightly lower on Sunday after a fall in oil prices at the end of last week, while banking shares helped lift Qatar’s benchmark index.

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index fell 0.2% in a choppy trade, hit by a 4.6% fall in ACWA Power Company and a 3.3% decline in Saudi Arabian Mining Co.

Oil prices - a catalyst for the Gulf’s financial markets - settled more than 2% lower on Friday as traders grew less fearful of prolonged supply disruptions from a hurricane in the US Gulf of Mexico, while China’s latest economic stimulus packages failed to impress some oil traders.

The Qatari index - which resumed trading following a two day break - gained 0.5%, with Qatar Islamic Bank advancing 1.1% and the Gulf’s biggest lender Qatar National Bank was up 0.4%.