DUBAI, March 20 (Reuters) - Gulf stocks were trading in anarrow range early on Tuesday as investors paused ahead of aU.S. Federal Reserve policy meeting and amid concerns that U.S.President Donald Trump could impose additional protectionisttrade measures.
Oil prices edged up slightly, with Brent crude futures up 21cents at $66.26 per barrel. The Fed's first policy meeting undernew chairman Jerome Powell begins later in the day.
The region's biggest market, Saudi Arabia, was 0.1percent lower, weighed down by banks. National Commercial Bankwas down 0.4 percent and Samba Financial Groupdropped 0.5 percent.
The Abu Dhabi index slipped 0.3 percent with AldarProperties down 0.9 percent, and First Abu Dhabi Bank(FAB) down 0.4 percent.
On Monday FAB, the United Arab Emirates' biggest lender,denied that it had tried to manipulate the Qatari riyal.
The denial came after Reuters reported that a law firmworking for the central bank of Qatar asked U.S. regulators toinvestigate FAB's U.S. subsidiary, accusing it of "bogus"foreign exchange deals designed to harm Qatar's economy.
The Dubai index was flat, as banks edged higher,but construction stocks and smaller property firms weighed.
Emaar Properties was up 0.3 percent, and DubaiIslamic Bank was up 0.2 percent. Union Properties wasdown 0.6 percent and Drake & Scull International wasdown 0.6 percent.
In Qatar, the index was down 0.3 percent. IndustriesQatar lost 1.8 percent and United Development Companylost 1.2 percent.
Qatar National Bank, which had attracted buyinginterest due to its move to boost foreign ownership limit, camein for selling on Tuesday. It was down 1.5 percent in earlytrade.(Reporting by Hadeel Al SayeghEditing by Catherine Evans)
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