nov 28 reuters  major stock markets in the gulf fell on monday with the qatari index leading the drop as investors tracked sluggish crude prices and asian equities lower after rare protests in china against the countrys zerocovid curbs roiled sentiment crude prices  a key catalyst for the gulfs financial markets  slumped as street protests against strict curbs in china the worlds biggest crude importer stoked concerns about the outlook for fuel demand china has stuck with president xi jinpings zerocovid policy even as much of the world has lifted most restrictions in qatar the index qsi dropped 15 as all stocks were trading in negative territory including petrochemical maker industries qatar iqcdqa which was down 19 saudi arabias benchmark index tasi retreated more than 1 with retal urban development co 4322se losing 1 and oil giant saudi aramco 2222se declining 09 mscis broadest index of asiapacific shares outside japan miapj0000pus was down 15 having slumped 22 at the open as chinas covid protests raised investors concerns about the growth implications for the worlds secondlargest economy the abu dhabi index ftfadgi slipped 05 hit by a 11 fall in the countrys biggest lender first abu dhabi bank fabad dubais main share index dfmgi retreated 05 weighed down by a 09 fall in bluechip developer emaar properties emardu separately the central banks of india and the united arab emirates are discussing a potential mechanism to trade in their respective local currencies indias ambassador to uae sunjay sudhir said on friday reporting by ateeq shariff in bengaluru editing by sherry jacobphillips