MIDEAST STOCKS-Real estate weighs on Dubai, major Gulf markets down

 * Developers' MSCI exclusion weighs on Dubai index * Abu Dhabi up on financials * But banks drag down Saudi index * EGX30 boosted by telecoms, industrials By Tuqa Khalid DUBAI, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Dubai's stock market fell
sharply on Sunday dragged down by property stocks, as other
major Gulf bourses also saw losses. In Dubai, the index dropped 1.1 percent. The emirate’s
largest listed developer, Emaar Properties, slid 3.3
percent, Emaar Malls dropped 4.5 percent, and DAMAC
properties fell 2.3 percent. Dubai’s weak real estate market has been a big drag for
property shares this year. Prices have been falling
quarter-on-quarter almost continually since the start of 2017,
with analysts blaming a glut of properties on the market. "DFM index continued its downward performance due to
expected deletion of Emaar Development, Emaar Malls and DAMAC
properties from MSCI Index which will result in $200 million of
outflow from these names," said Sanat Sachar, equity research
analyst at Al Mal Capital. The three firms' performance over the past year sets them up
for exclusion from the MSCI Emerging Markets Index in May under
the compiler’s criteria for membership. The Saudi stock index was down 0.4 percent, dragged
down by financials. Saudi British Bank (SABB) fell 1.8
percent, Alawwal Bank fell 1.6 percent and Banque
Saudi Fransi (BSF) fell 2.8 percent after reporting
decreased net income which the company said was due to an
increase in total operating expenses because of higher
impairment charges. The EGX 30 Index gained 0.8 percent boosted by
telecommunications and industrials, as Orascom Investment
Holding surged 8.4 percent and Telecom Egypt Co was up 6.5 percent. Abu Dhabi's index rose 0.6 percent lifted by
financials, such as heavyweight First Abu Dhabi Bank,
which rose 1.8 percent. This comes a week after it said it had
proposed increasing its foreign ownership limit to 40 percent
from 25 percent. Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank also rose 1.7 percent. Qatar’s index dropped 0.3 percent with Qatar Gas Transport shedding 1.7 percent and Qatar Insurance Co
down 1.2 percent. SAUDI The index fell 0.4 pct to 8,527 points ARABIA DUBAI The index fell 1.1 pct to 2,540 points QATAR The index was fell 0.3 pct to 10,689 points ABU DHABI The index rose 0.6 pct to 5,076 points EGYPT The index rose 0.8 pct to 14,244 points KUWAIT The index fell 0.5 pct to 5,406 points OMAN The index fell 0.5 pct to 4,147 points BAHRAIN The index was up 0.3 pct at 1,396 points (Reporting by Tuqa Khalid
Editing by Andrew Heavens)