Gulf markets ended mixed on Monday, with UAE, Oman, Bahrain and Qatar markets managed to record gains while Saudi Arabia and Kuwait posted losses. Saudi Arabia's stock benchmark Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) fell 1.23 percent to 6,177.75 on Monday, with just nine stocks rising on the day compared to 114 that dropped. All sectors ended lower except for Cement, with Southern Cement the day's big gainer, up 2.26 percent to SR67.75. Kuwait index fell 0.8 percent to 7,057 points. Banks dragged the Saudi index .2 percent lower after central bank data showed a decline of more than 12.5 percent in national banks' profitability in the October-November period. Hollandi Bank fell 2.2 percent, Saudi British Bank slipped 2.9 percent and Samba Financial Group declined 1.9 percent. Kuwait's largest Islamic lender, Kuwait Finance House, fell 3.4 percent despite signing a US real estate deal on Sunday. The index slipped 0.8 percent to 7,057 points. “The major trend is down,” said a research note from NBK Capital. Logistics firm Agility ended 1.5 percent lower after the company said it was in talks with the US government regarding a settlement in a fraud case but that a deal was yet to be reached. Elsewhere in the region, Dubai's index advanced 3.4 percent to 1,829 points as Abu Dhabi's benchmark climbed 1.2 percent to 2,728 points. Qatar's benchmark rose marginally 0.01 percent, to 7,030 points while Oman's index ended 0.3 percent higher to 6,197 points. Bahrain's index gained 0.3 percent to close at 1,449 points. Real estate and construction stocks led by Arabtec helped lift the UAE markets on Monday, as other Gulf markets ended mixed. Dubai-based Arabtec gained 14.8 percent, surging on speculative buying. It has surged more than 20 percent in the past two trading days.
