Most major Gulf stocks fell on Tuesday, with Abu Dhabi leading the losses, though Dubai bucked the trend supported by Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB). In Dubai, the index rose 0.2 percent with Dubai Islamic Bank adding 0.8 percent. The United Arab Emirates' largest sharia-compliant lender called a shareholders meeting on December 17 to approve acquisition of the unlisted Noor Bank. Elsewhere, budget airline Air Arabia advanced 2.1 percent and Emaar Development gained 2.7 percent. However, the gains were capped by losses in Emirates NBD , the lender traded down 0.8 percent. The Abu Dhabi index dropped 0.5 percent hurt by First Abu Dhabi Bank and telecoms firm Etisalat, which were down 0.5 percent and 0.8 percent respectively. Saudi's benchmark index dipped 0.1 percent with Al Rajhi Bank and Samba Financial Group losing 0.5 percent each. Recently, the banks in Saudi saw a rally triggered following a lending boom related to Saudi Aramco's public listing. Saudi banks are marketing loans to help locals subscribe Saudi Aramco's initial public offering (IPO), with some offering four times the usual lending limit, Reuters reported citing two financial sources. The jump in lending has prompted Saudi Arabia's central bank to monitor banking sector liquidity on a daily basis, assuring that there have not been any liquidity issues so far. The Qatari index lost 0.4 percent driven down by a 1.1 percent fall in Qatar National Bank, the Gulf's largest lender, and a 0.5 percent drop in lender Masraf Al Rayan. Source: Reuters
