By Rachna Uppal
DUBAI, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Gulf Arab markets ended mostly lower on Sunday, with profit-taking in lacklustre trading dogging the region's benchmarks.
Real estate stocks weighed on the Dubai index, with market mover Emaar Properties shedding 4.8 percent, its largest single day decline since Aug. 17.
The selloff contributed to a 2.5 percent fall in Dubai's measure, after seven of its 10 largest stocks declined.
'We've seen profit taking from domestic and retail investors. On face value, it looks like a poor performance but this is in line with expectations and is nothing to panic about,' said Julian Bruce, director of institutional equity sales at EFG Hermes.
The Abu Dhabi index fell just over 1 percent, weighed by real estate and banking stocks. Aldar Properties, the largest developer in the United Arab Emirates' capital, shed almost 4 percent.
'In the UAE it was time for the markets to take a breather,' says Rami Sidani, Schroders Middle East head of investment. 'But regionally, there is still a strong positive sentiment in the market.'
The benchmark in Saudi Arabia saw gains in early trading after food group Savola Group reported a leap in profit. However, banks and financial services stocks led the index to end 0.6 percent lower.
'In Saudi Arabia, we see some good earnings which will boost market confidence, and oil prices will act as a catalyst to bring international money into the markets,' Sidani said.
Elsewhere, Industries Qatar jumped 3.6 percent, helping push the benchmark up 0.4 percent. The firm reported a 55 percent decline in third quarter profit on Wednesday, but this was better than analysts' expectations.
'The Industries Qatar third-quarter results showed a good performance and investors and brokers have realised this after initially pushing the price down after the earnings came out,' said Mohamed Abu Ghoush, equity brokerage head at Ahli Bank.
'Overall, the performance of the Qatar economy through the crisis has been very good, and a lot of investors are looking at Qatar as a good safe haven compared to the difficult situation in other (Gulf Arab) markets.'
SUNDAY'S HIGHLIGHTS
DUBAI
* The benchmark retreated 2.5 percent to 2,292 points.
ABU DHABI
* The index slipped 1 percent to 3,207 points.
SAUDI ARABIA
* The kingdom's benchmark fell 0.6 percent tp 6,396.
QATAR
* The measure advanced 0.4 percent to 7,371 points.
OMAN
* Muscat's benchmark declined 1 percent to 6,617 points.
BAHRAIN
* The index inched up 0.03 percent to 1,550 points.
KUWAIT
* The measure retreated 0.4 percent to 7,679 points.
(Editing by Firouz Sedarat) Keywords: MARKETS MIDEAST STOCKS/ (dubai.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com, +971 4 391 8301) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
DUBAI, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Gulf Arab markets ended mostly lower on Sunday, with profit-taking in lacklustre trading dogging the region's benchmarks.
Real estate stocks weighed on the Dubai index, with market mover Emaar Properties shedding 4.8 percent, its largest single day decline since Aug. 17.
The selloff contributed to a 2.5 percent fall in Dubai's measure, after seven of its 10 largest stocks declined.
'We've seen profit taking from domestic and retail investors. On face value, it looks like a poor performance but this is in line with expectations and is nothing to panic about,' said Julian Bruce, director of institutional equity sales at EFG Hermes.
The Abu Dhabi index fell just over 1 percent, weighed by real estate and banking stocks. Aldar Properties, the largest developer in the United Arab Emirates' capital, shed almost 4 percent.
'In the UAE it was time for the markets to take a breather,' says Rami Sidani, Schroders Middle East head of investment. 'But regionally, there is still a strong positive sentiment in the market.'
The benchmark in Saudi Arabia saw gains in early trading after food group Savola Group reported a leap in profit. However, banks and financial services stocks led the index to end 0.6 percent lower.
'In Saudi Arabia, we see some good earnings which will boost market confidence, and oil prices will act as a catalyst to bring international money into the markets,' Sidani said.
Elsewhere, Industries Qatar jumped 3.6 percent, helping push the benchmark up 0.4 percent. The firm reported a 55 percent decline in third quarter profit on Wednesday, but this was better than analysts' expectations.
'The Industries Qatar third-quarter results showed a good performance and investors and brokers have realised this after initially pushing the price down after the earnings came out,' said Mohamed Abu Ghoush, equity brokerage head at Ahli Bank.
'Overall, the performance of the Qatar economy through the crisis has been very good, and a lot of investors are looking at Qatar as a good safe haven compared to the difficult situation in other (Gulf Arab) markets.'
SUNDAY'S HIGHLIGHTS
DUBAI
* The benchmark retreated 2.5 percent to 2,292 points.
ABU DHABI
* The index slipped 1 percent to 3,207 points.
SAUDI ARABIA
* The kingdom's benchmark fell 0.6 percent tp 6,396.
QATAR
* The measure advanced 0.4 percent to 7,371 points.
OMAN
* Muscat's benchmark declined 1 percent to 6,617 points.
BAHRAIN
* The index inched up 0.03 percent to 1,550 points.
KUWAIT
* The measure retreated 0.4 percent to 7,679 points.
(Editing by Firouz Sedarat) Keywords: MARKETS MIDEAST STOCKS/ (dubai.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com, +971 4 391 8301) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.