JEDDAH/DUBAI: Most Middle East markets fell on Sunday, tracking end-of-week declines in global stocks and oil prices in the absence of regional catalysts.

Egypt was the biggest casualty, falling 2.2 percent. Cairo, Abu Dhabi and Qatar made their largest losses in two weeks as negative sentiment spurred investors to book gains from recent highs. Speculators bought Zain, lifting Kuwait’s index, while Bahrain rose and Saudi Arabia ended flat. The Kuwait index rose 0.5 percent to 7,102 points.

The Abu Dhabi index dropped 0.9 percent to 2,682 points. The Egypt index fell 2.2 percent to 6,827 points. Dubai’s index fell 2 percent to 1,631 points, with Emirates NBD and Emaar Properties falling 2.8 and 3.3 percent respectively. Shuaa Capital dropped 7.5 percent after posting a quarterly loss.

Industries Qatar, sensitive to oil prices, fell 2.7 percent and Commercial Bank of Qatar and Barwa Real Estate lost 3.4 and 1.8 percent respectively. Doha’s index is down this year, having gained 1 percent in 2009 to underperform Saudi Arabia, which rose 27 percent. Qatar’s gross domestic product is forecast to rise 16.1 percent. The Qatari index fell 1.5 percent to 6,729 points.

Zain surged 5.7 percent to 930 fils, helping Kuwait’s index rise for a fourth day. “It’s all about Zain — some investors saw it as cheap at these prices, but it’s speculation,” said Essa Al-Hasawi, a dealer at Noor Financial Investment Co. in Kuwait. “Zain leads the market and I think the market will be good this week if Zain holds above 900 fils,” he added.

In Saudi Arabia, the Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) edged up 0.01 percent to 6,216.16 points.

The sector losses across five sectors ranged from 0.04 percent in the Hotel & Tourism sector, to a loss of 0.64 percent in the Transport sector. On the other hand, positive sector movement ranged from 0.01 percent in the Banks & Financial Services sector to a gain of 0.56 percent in the Multi-Investment sector.

Overall market breadth was almost neutral with a positive tendency, as the market saw on Sunday 59 advancers and 53 decliners, recording an AD ratio of 1.11, the Jeddah-based Financial Transaction House (FTH) said. The Omani index dropped 0.9 percent to 6,473 points. The Bahraini index rose 1.2 percent to 1,507 points.

— With input from agencies