Other Middle East markets were mixed in subdued trading.
Emaar Properties lost 0.8 percent after saying it would not pay a dividend for 2009 and Dubai Financial Market lost 1.6 percent. The pair accounted for more than half of all shares traded on the index, which fell 0.4 percent to 1,769 points from Tuesday's 10-week high.
"There is only really trading on two stocks - Emaar and DFM - the rest of the market is dead," said Musa Haddad, head of MENA equity desk at National Bank of Abu Dhabi.
"From a technical point of view, I don't see the market going up much. Everyone is waiting to see what will come out of Dubai World. Dubai rallied from around 1,550 points to near 1,800, so the market has already priced in the news."
Abu Dhabi gained for a third day in four, with National Bank of Abu Dhabi rising 3.4 percent. The benchmark rose 0.4 percent to 2,872 points.
Kuwait's Zain rose 1.4 percent to a new 23-week high. After market hours, Zain's board approved its $9 billion African asset sale to India's Bharti Airtel, sources told Reuters.
Some analysts say the asset sale will spark profit-taking in Zain and other companies linked to major shareholder, the Kharafi group, but Essa Al-Hasawi, a dealer at Noor Financial Investment Co. in Kuwait, was more bullish.
"We're still positive and think the market could go up by at least 10 percent once the Zain deal is approved," said Hasawi. "There should be a cash windfall for Zain investors and this should be reinvested into other stocks because there aren't many alternative investment opportunities in Kuwait."
Saudi Telecom Co. and Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) rose 1.8 and 1 percent respectively, lifting Saudi Arabia's index to another 17-month high. "The Saudi mobile market still has growth potential despite high penetration," Al-Rajhi Capital wrote in a research note.
The Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) edged higher by 0.27 percent to close at 6,756.98 points. The sector activity was balanced with 8 out of 15 sectors closing with positive gains ranging from 0.11 percent by the Retail sector to 1.21 percent by the Telecommunication & Information Technology sector. The losses were seen in the remaining 7 sectors ranging from 0.02 percent by the Media and Publishing to 1.20 percent by the Cement sector. The overall market breadth however remained negative with 54 advancers against 58 decliners giving it an AD ratio of 0.93, the Jeddah-based Financial Transaction House (FTH) said in its daily market commentary.
Qatar's index fell 0.6 percent to 7,372 points, its largest loss for three weeks, down from Tuesday's 23-week high as a bank-led rally waned. Doha Bank lost 2 percent.
The Omani benchmark rose 0.1 percent to 6,775 points.
The Bahraini index fell 0.04 percent to 1,532 points.
- With input from agencies
