Kuwait’s bourse tumbles to a 12-day low as investors sell shares in small-cap companies ahead of a deadline to report corporate earnings, while banks help lift UAE markets.
Kuwait firms must publish fourth-quarter results by March 31 and many have yet to do so. Failure to meet this deadline could lead to their shares being suspended, sparking Monday’s sell-off.
More than 50 companies face this possible sanction, according to Fouad Darwish, head of brokerage at Global Investment House.
“These stocks have been creating volumes and number of transactions,” he says.
Gulf Investment House and Abyaar Real Estate drop 7 and 3.9 percent respectively.
The main index falls 2 percent to 6,696 points, its lowest level since March 13 to trim 2013 gains to 12.8 percent.
Elsewhere, Dubai’s measure climbs 0.6 percent to 1,908 points. Heavyweight bank Emirates NBD rises 3.8 percent.
Abu Dhabi’s First Gulf Bank climbs 0.8 percent and National Bank of Abu Dhabi rises 0.5 percent.
Abu Dhabi’s index edges up 0.08 percent to 2,996 points.
Elsewhere, Saudi Arabia’s market and Egypt’s bourse are little changed at 7,139 and 5,255 points respectively.
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