Most Gulf bourses fall; Egypt gains on valuations

Bargain hunters lifted Egypt's shares on Thursday but Abu Dhabi's index slumped to 14-month lows with banks leading the decline and other Gulf markets also fell.

Cairo's index rose 2.5 percent but is still down 43 percent this year and volumes until recently were near multi-year lows.

Dealers say short-term trading has become the norm given the uncertain political backdrop and a lack of visibility for investors.

"It's the same scenario being repeated. The market crashes and every dip is a buy. Events are quickly reflected in the market," said Omar Darwish at CIBC.

Market heavyweight Orascom Construction gained 5.6 percent and was also the most traded stock.

Commercial International Bank and Orascom Telecom rose by 2.5 percent and 2.2 percent.

In the UAE's capital, National Bank of Abu Dhabi fell 1.5 percent, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank slipped 1.8 percent and Investment Bank dropped 5.9 percent.

"Banks will be interesting once the numbers are out because they will be telling us about the credit quality and loan growth," said a trader based in Abu Dhabi. "But it's too risky to be buying banks before the numbers."