Property firms sent the Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar benchmarks tumbling on Thursday as Gulf Arab and Egyptian stocks retreated on waning global sentiment and net selling from international funds. Kuwait edged higher following a late rally, Oman fell slightly and Bahrain retreated for the first session in five. Egypt fell for a second day. “The Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar markets all had sharp rallies over the past 30 days and so were due for a correction, but Kuwait and Saudi Arabia have been more steady and so aren't under the same pressure,” said Naser Al-Nafisi, general manager for Al Joman Center for Economic Consultancy in Kuwait. The benchmark in Dubai fell 3.1 percent to 2,014 points, while in Abu Dhabi the measure slipped 2.3 percent to 2,863 points, its third decline in four sessions. Dubai is down 8.4 percent since Sunday, wiping out some of its 32 percent, three-week rally from May 25. In Qatar the benchmark also fell, down 2.6 percent to 6,585 points, its fourth straight reverse. As did the Oman index, dropping 0.6 percent to 5,690 points, its first decline in four sessions. The index in Bahrain eased 0.1 percent to 1,624 points. The Kuwait benchmark rose for the fourth session in five, climbing 0.3 percent to 8,312 points. Zain Mobile Telecommunications Co rose 5.4 percent as rumors circulated over the future of the company's African operations. The measure in Egypt declined 2.3 percent to 6,163 points. Nervous investors are now cashing in amid rising fears that stock prices moved significantly ahead of fundamentals, said Sanyalaksna Manibhandu, Emaar Saudi Financial Services head of research. “The trend should be downwards on thin volumes for the next two months or so,” he said. Foreign investors offloaded Middle East stocks, with non-Arab investors net sellers of $10.9 million of shares in Dubai and $26 million in Egypt, while Qatar's foreign players were net sellers of $2.9 million. “Dubai was a laggard in the regional rally and so when it started to move up people took money out of other markets to invest there,” said Emaar's Manibhandu.
