Gulf markets continue to fall

The decline witnessed in the GCC stock markets has confused traders, as it came amid some good H1 profits for listed firms - it has been attributed by analysts to Iran's nuclear standoff with the west.

Loses among both UAE markets reached Dhs9.8bn, amid fears that the market might enter a new declining era if Emaar's shares fail to stay above Dhs10 during the coming sessions.

Dubai: pressure from Emaar and Emirates NBD

Emaar and Emirates NBD made their pressure felt in the market, after declining by 1.4% and 4.6% respectively, amid fears that Emaar may fall below Dhs10.

All leading shares declined today, except shares such as Amlak and Dubai Investments, which rose by 1.4% and 0.82% respectively.

Shuaa Capital lost 3.7% of yesterday's gains, after rising sharply on Tuesday by 15% after its decision to treat Gulf nationals with UAE investors.

There was some good news for Ajman Islamic Bank though - it managed to close unchanged at Dhs3.37, after trading Dhs217m out of total trading of Dhs864.8m.

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange also fell sharply today, but traded Dhs1.2bn including Dhs544m for Methaq, which rose by 6.6% after being subject to heavy speculation.

Saudi Arabia: weekly losses of 1.5%

After yesterday's heavy losses of 4.3%, the Tadawul managed to rise by 1.7% to regain some of its weekly losses. However, on its last trading day for the week, it still closed down overall, by 1.5%.

Halawani Brothers share rose by 2.5% during its first day of trading, opening by SR34 from its IPO price of SR30, but falling back to closed at SR30.75. It traded more than SR1bn out of total trading of SR7bn on the Saudi market.

Other leading shares supported the index, including Sabic, which rose by 3% and Saudi Hollandi Bank, which was up 9.8% after it posted a 59% increase in H1 profits, rising to SR608.6m from SR382m.

Sabb also rose, by 4.8% after a 25% increase in profits, while Al Jazira bank continued to register a sharp decline by 5.4%, after its profits fell by 50%.

Kuwait: banks lead the losses

The Kuwait Stock Exchange has lost more than 1,000 points in three weeks, but trading value today improved, at KD116.6m, with 192 million shares traded.

Banks and investment houses led the decline today, despite their strong H1 profits. Kuwait Commercial Bank fell by 2.8%, NBK by 2.2% and KFH 1.4%.

Zain fell 1.4%, despite Morgan Stanley's recommendation to buy the share, determining its price at KD1.5.

Jizan Holding rose by 5.3%, after the company posted a KD660,000 profit from its KD2.2m deal with International Resorts.

Doha: QNB and Qtel lead the decline

The Doha Market witnessed a decline similar to that of the UAE markets, after pressure from all leading sectors. Trading value also fell, to QR482m on a volume of 7.7 million shares, including 2.6 million for Al Rayan and Naqilat, which both fell by 0.47 and 2.8% respectively.

Heavyweight QNB and Qtel declined by 2.4% and 1.6% respectively, as did Dalalah, which fell by 2.7%, despite its 285% increase in profits to QR40.1m from QR10.4m.

Shipping Co share also fell by 0.83%, despite a 57.5% increase in profits.

Muscat and Bahrain fall despite profits

After two rising sessions, Muscat fell today after pressure from leading shares Omantel and Muscat Bank.

Omantel fell by 0.67%, despite trading OR1.4m out of total trading of OR8.7m. Muscat bank fell by 0.43%.

National Gas, which posted a 97% increase in profits, rose by its maximum limit of 10%, Muscat Gas closed up 8.6% after a 93% increase in profits, while Gulf Chemicals rose by 9.4%, after a 43% increase in H1 profits.

In Bahrain, the market dropped slightly today after leading shares declined, including ABC by 2% and GFH 0.27%.

Ithmaar Bank rose 1.3% after trading one million shares, while Al Salam and Gulf Commercial Bank closed unchanged, having traded 2.7 million and1.6 million respectively.

The three shares dominated 76.8% of the total trading, which reached 6.9m.