Real estate woes leave Gulf shares down

SHARES WOE: Real estate stocks are weighing heavy on Gulf indices. (Getty Images)

Gulf Arab shares extended losses on Thursday as ongoing real estate woes in Dubai cast a shadow across the region.

Oman's main index ended five percent lower, deepening losses as small investors fled due to property scandals in Dubai and fears of worse to come for the market. The index has lost more than 30 percent since June 12.

"Fatigue selling is setting in," said analyst Sagar Patel at Bank Muscat. "People are just dumping at whatever prices."

Qatar's main index also ended lower as a foreign sell-off continued, driven by fears of a slowdown in the country's real estate sector, the rising dollar and falling oil prices.

"There's a heavy sell-off from foreign institutions and they are targeting bank stocks, Qatar Telecom, Qatar Gas and Transport (Nakilat) in particular," said Amro Motasim, chief trader at Ahli Bank.

In addition, investors who had entered the Qatari market on speculation of a currency revaluation are now exiting due to the rising dollar, Motasim said.

In the UAE, property shares weighed on the Dubai index and on the Abu Dhabi benchmark, which ended down 2.45 percent and 1.35 percent respectively.

Tamweel, whose deputy chief executive is in police detention as part of an ongoing investigation, ended 6.2 percent lower, while Emaar Properties ended 3.6 percent lower, a day after hitting a 41-month low.

Also weighing on the Dubai index were shares in Dubai Islamic Bank, which ended 3.2 percent lower after it said it has taken over a "substantial area" of land following the foreclosure of a development in themepark Dubailand.

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