Gulf markets continue to fall

Arab stock markets dropped on Thursday for a second day. The Dubai Financial Market Index ended the week's final day of trading down 6.5 per cent at 3,204.11 points.

Real estate developer Emaar lost 9.7 per cent on Thursday, while the real estate sector as a whole shed 9.2 per cent.

Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange index dropped 4.5 per cent to 3,366.72 points. The real estate sector lost 9.5 per cent. 

The Kuwait Stock Exchange, the second-largest Arab bourse, declined 1.5 per cent to 11,543.70 points on the day and shed three per cent from a week earlier.

The Doha Securities Market closed 3.6 per cent down from Wednesday at 7,803.97 points, below the 8,000-point barrier.

The Muscat Securities Market lost 5.7 per cent for the day while Bahrain Stock Exchange dropped 1.2 per cent on Thursday.