Other markets in the Middle East ended higher, in part on the back of ongoing mergers and acquisitions activity in the telecoms sector.

“As anticipated, the bank (QNB) was a key beneficiary of the persistent lending momentum witnessed in Qatar, providing a boost to the lender’s revenues,” said Shuaa Capital analyst Sofia El Boury.

“At the same time, QNB was able to maintain exceptionally healthy asset quality indicators, providing comfortable leeway for improvement in profitability,” she added.

In other Middle East markets, telecoms took center stage amid two mergers and acquisitions deals.

Shares in Orascom Telecom jumped as high as 7.3 percent during the day — but ended only 0.7 percent higher — on market talk that Algeria will pay $7.8 billion for the firm’s local unit, although many traders said the speculation is fueled by confusion over statements from Vimpelcom.

Kuwait’s National Investments Co. owned by the Kharafi Group, rose 5.3 percent after it said it has obtained the required number of Zain shares to tender to the Etisalat offer.

Kharafi, which is a main Zain shareholder, has said it will accept an offer for its stake in the Kuwaiti telco company from UAE’s Etisalat.

In Dubai, real estate giant Emaar Properties rose for a third straight session.

Dubai’s Emaar remains a lone bright spot in a gloomy outlook for UAE developers, but woes are set to continue for Abu Dhabi’s Aldar Properties with an expected third-quarter loss.

Most analysts polled by Reuters expect Emaar to increase earnings in the third quarter, boosted by the handover of properties at Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest tower.

Meanwhile, Dubai’s index gained 1 percent to 1,722 points and Abu Dhabi’s benchmark climbed 0.3 percent to 2,685 points.

In Egypt, the index inched up 0.5 percent to 6,879 points and Qatar’s bourse rose 0.2 percent to 7,765 points.  Oman’s benchmark slid 0.02 percent to 6,506 points while Bahrain’s index advanced 0.5 percent to 1,458 points.