Gulf shares mostly weak

Dubai : Gulf stock markets mostly fell yesterday, although trading volume in Riyadh shrank, suggesting there was less panic selling of shares.

The Saudi index fell as much as 1.5 per cent during the day but closed only 0.3pc lower after state-linked funds once again bought stocks in late trade. National Commercial Bank, a key stock held by the Public Investment Fund, rose 1.3pc. Among stocks linked to people who have been detained in the probe, Kingdom Holding rebounded 5.8pc, although it remained 16pc below its level before chairman Prince Alwaleed bin Talal was arrested.

Dubai’s index climbed 0.4pc. Falling stocks outnumbered rising ones by 17 to 13, but Emaar Properties added 1.0pc before it reported quarterly earnings.

After the close, Emaar posted a 32pc rise in third-quarter net profit to 1.51 billion dirhams, beating SICO Bahrain’s forecast of 1.36 billion dirhams.

Qatar’s index edged down 0.1pc.