 chip index to 0.9 in table Samba Financial Group extends gains Qatar to further ease coronavirus curbs Palm Hills falls on lower Q1 profit By Ateeq Shariff June 29 Reuters - Saudi Arabian stocks ended lower onMonday, hurt by losses in banking shares, while the indexes inQatar and Dubai extended their retreat to a straight fourth day. Saudi Arabias benchmark index slipped 0.1 inchoppy trading, with National Commercial Bank NCB,which closed up 5 in the previous session, declining 4.5 andAl Rajhi Bank losing 1. NCB, the kingdoms biggest lender, said on Thursday it hadsigned an initial agreement with smaller lender Samba FinancialGroup to create a combined entity with almost 214billion in assets. But Samba jumped 4.9, adding to the previous sessionsgains. The offer would value each Samba share at 27.42 to 29.32riyals 7.82, giving it a maximum market value of 15.63billion, 27.5 above its market value of nearly 12.3 billionbased on Wednesdays closing price. In Qatar, which has the second highest tally of infectionsamong the six Gulf Arab states, the index declined 0.8,with most of its constituents trading lower. Petrochemical firmIndustries Qatar led the losers with a drop of 3. The Gulf state aims to further ease coronavirus curbs fromJuly 1, allowing the limited reopening of restaurants, beachesand parks, as infections have passed their peak and the rate wassubsiding, authorities said. Dubais main share index edged down 0.2, withsharia-compliant lender Dubai Islamic Bank falling0.8 and logistic firm Aramex down 1.7. The Abu Dhabi index dropped 0.7, depressed by a 1.4fall in the countrys largest lender First Abu Dhabi Bank. Outside the Gulf, the Egyptian blue-chip index fell0.9, hurt by a 1.2 fall in Commercial International Bank Egypt. Elsewhere, Palm Hills Development, which reporteda drop in first-quarter profit, retreated 1.2. SAUDI ARABIA eased 0.1 to 7,287 points ABU DHABI lost 0.7 to 4,275 points DUBAI fell 0.2 to 2,081 points QATAR dropped 0.8 to 9,052 points EGYPT down 0.9 to 10,750 points BAHRAIN was flat at 1,278 points OMAN eased 0.1 to 3,521 points KUWAIT lost 0.6 to 5,620 points 1 3.7508 riyals Reporting by Ateeq Shariff in BengaluruEditing by Mark Heinrich 