Stock markets in energy-rich Gulf states dropped on Tuesday, hit by rising tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran, a royal purge in Saudi Arabia and other regional disputes.

The decline was led by shares in Kuwait and Qatar, where the stock index dropped to its lowest level since March 2011 as the country reels from a five-month-old boycott by neighbouring nations.

Oil prices made rapid gains overnight as geopolitical tensions surged between Saudi Arabia and Iran, sparking fears of a conflict that could disrupt supplies from two major producers.

Qatar Airways announced on Monday it has bought a stake in Cathay Pacific, giving the Doha-based airline a toehold in the potentially lucrative Asian aviation market.

European Union finance ministers meet without Britain in Brussels on Monday to try to iron out their differences on plans to reform the euro in the wake of the shock Brexit vote.

The opening this week of the glittering Louvre Abu Dhabi museum marks the latest stage in a multi-billion-dollar "soft power" showdown between energy giants Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Saudi Arabia said Sunday that bank accounts of dozens of high-profile figures arrested in an anti-corruption sweep will be frozen.

"The accounts and balances of those detained will be revealed and frozen. Any asset or property related to these cases of corruption will be registered as state property," the kingdom's information ministry said.

Shares in Kingdom Holding, 95 percent of which is owned by billionaire Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, dived 9.9 percent as the Saudi stock exchange opened Sunday after reports of his arrest.

The Saudi Tadawul All-Shares Index (TASI) also dropped 1.6 percent only a minute after the start of trading on the Arab world's largest stock market following a sweeping crackdown on corruption that saw the arrest of leading royals and businessmen.

Beijing on Friday hit back at a U.S. decision to exclude a Chinese bank from the American financial system over its alleged ties to North Korea, slamming the move as "long-armed jurisdiction."

Alibaba launched an electronic trading hub in Malaysia Friday aimed at helping small- and medium-sized businesses, a first for the Chinese internet giant outside its home country.

Wall Street stocks treaded water early Friday after a solid October jobs report and strong earnings from Apple that boosted shares of the tech giant.

The U.S. economy added 261,000 new jobs last month as businesses reopened in the wake of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. The headline jobs figure was solid, and the prior two months were revised upward.