Qatar shares fell the most in more than a week, leading a decline in the Gulf, on concern second- quarter earnings may fall and as China reaffirmed a commitment to curb lending. Qatar's QE Index slipped 0.8 percent, the most since July 4, to 6,959.34. Industries Qatar, the second-biggest petrochemicals maker in the Middle East, retreated 1.9 percent and Qatar Islamic Bank fell for the first time in seven days. “Investors are awaiting second-quarter results of big companies,” said Mohammed Ali Yasin, chief executive officer at Shuaa Securities LLC in Abu Dhabi. “Day traders are anticipating and moving with the global markets.” Companies from Gulf Arab nations started releasing earnings this month. Saudi Arabia's Tadawul All Share Index dropped as much as 0.9 on Monday after Saudi British Bank, the lender 40 percent owned by HSBC Holdings PLC, and Saudi Investment Bank posted a decline in second-quarter net income. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell as much as 0.7 percent, the biggest intraday decline since July 7. China will “strictly” enforce housing policies, such as lending rules, to prevent speculative investment, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development said today. Portugal had its credit rating cut two notches to A1 at Moody's Investors Service, which cited a growing debt burden and weak economic growth prospects. Industries Qatar retreated the most since June 30 to 97.6 riyals. Qatar Islamic Bank, the Gulf state's biggest Shariah-compliant lender, dropped 1.1 percent, the most since June 29, to 73.9 riyals. The lender is expected to release earnings this week. Abu Dhabi's gauge lost 0.4 percent, Oman's MSM 30 Index decreased 0.2 percent, while the Kuwait SE Price Index added 0.1 percent. Bahrain's gauge slipped less than 0.1 percent and Saudi's index was down by 0.03 percent to 6,216.67. Dubai's DFM General Index gained 0.4 percent to the highest this month. Emaar Properties PJSC led the advance, rising 1.5 percent to AED3.30. The Dubai-developer's second-quarter earnings are likely to “surprise on the upside” because of income from the handover of apartments at Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest tower in Dubai, Deutsche Bank AG said. Meanwhile, Asian markets were mostly lower Tuesday as a tumble in Chinese stocks tempered optimism from US aluminum maker Alcoa's earnings. The Shanghai Composite index retreated 1.8 percent to 2,459.65. Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average was off 0.2 percent at 9,533.33 and South Korea's Kospi was little changed at 1,734.96. Elsewhere, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.4 percent to 4,392.20 while markets in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand rose.
