JEDDAH: Gulf stock markets reflected sluggish performance for the second week in a row, as investors returned to focus on the behavior of global markets after the release of third quarter earnings, financial analysts said Friday. The retreat of oil prices in response to receding expectations of world recovery also helped to put downward pressure on regional stocks, they added. Saudi stocks ended their second week in the red, responding to the slide of the world's major markets, despite the announcement by the Middle East's top petrochemical conglomerate, the Saudi Arabian Basic Industries Corp (SABIC), that it registered a 46 percent increase in net profits in the third quarter of 2010 to SR5.3 billion ($1.84 billion) from SR3.65 billion against the same period last year. The Tadawul All Share Index of the Arab world's largest stock exchange shed 1.15 percent this week, closing at 6,230.15 points. “I believe that global markets have left a negative, but unjustified, impact on the Saudi market,” the Jeddah-based Saudi analyst Khalid Harethi said. “Apparently, after the release of quarterly earnings, regional markets started to link up again with world bourses,” he added. Al-Harethi described this week's performance of Saudi stocks as “disappointing”, given the good quarterly results of the petrochemical, energy and telecom sectors. Kuwaiti shares closed in the red for the third consecutive week with banking and investment sectors leading the decline. Kuwait's KSE all-share index lost 0.94 per cent this week, crashing the 7,000-point psychological barrier and closing at 6,944 points. United Arab Emirates stocks were mixed this week. The all-share index of the Dubai exchange shed 0.16 per cent, to close at 1,744 points, while the Abu Dhabi benchmark was the main gainer in the Middle East, going up 1.77 percent and closing at 2,807 points. On Thursday, Qatar stock market increased insignificantly at 7,728 points, with the country's largest lender Qatar National Bank (QNB) gaining 0.37 percent to close at 163.6 Qatari riyals ($44.97). percent at 6,944.5 points mostly due to losses in the investment and industrial sector. Bahraini dinars (175 million dollars) on a year-on-year basis. Third quarter net profit stood at 19.3 million Bahraini dinars (51.1 million dollars), while gross revenues for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2010 reached 256.1 million Bahraini dinars (679.3 million dollars). The Bahrain Stock Exchange lost 0.05 percent to close at 1,465. The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) dipped 0.65 percent and finished at 1,743.98 points.
