Gulf stock markets closed mixed again on Tuesday. The Saudi benchmark Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) ended lower, extending losses from the two previous sessions, ending lower in the penultimate trading day of the year for the exchange. Banks declined with Saudi British Bank losing 2 percent and Samba Financial Group slipping 1.9 percent. “In Saudi, the banking sector is being sold off more, but there is nothing significant, the general picture of the market is bearish,” said Musa Haddad, head of Middle East equities trading desk at National Bank of Abu Dhabi. The Saudi index retreated 0.9 percent to 6,121.78 points. UAE markets also ended mixed, after stocks in Dubai came under selling pressure following Monday's rally, but selective buying at low volumes in Abu Dhabi helped the benchmark extend gains. Construction firm Arabtec suffered from profit-taking and ended 3.7 percent lower after three consecutive sessions of strong gains. Bellwether Emaar Properties also declined, ending 4.3 percent lower. “If you exclude Arabtec, you notice volumes are still very weak, which is expected for the time of the year. Institutional and long-term investors are on the sidelines,” said Chamel Fahmy at Beltone Financial. Dubai's index retreated 2.2 percent to 1,789 points. In Abu Dhabi, Emirates Telecommunications Company (Etisalat) gained 1.9 percent and investment company Aabar added 3.1 percent, helping lift the index to a higher close. The benchmark ended 0.5 percent higher at 2,743 points. Blue chips lead gains on Oman's index which ended higher amid decent volumes, on increased institutional investor interest. Galfar Engineering rose 2.5 percent, and Renaissance Services gained 2.8 percent. Among banks, National Bank of Oman added 2.6 per cent and Bank Muscat climbed 1.1 per cent. “There is huge demand from local institutions, which led the market. Most gains are in blue chips and these are mainly institutional stocks,” said Adel Nasr, at United Securities in Muscat. The Oman index ended 1.6 percent higher at 6,298 points. Kuwait's index slipping 0.6 percent despite bellwether Zain rising 2 percent. Qatar's index ended slightly lower, down 0.2 percent at 7,016 points and Bahrain's measure also retreated, ending 0.2 percent lower at 1,446 points.
