Gulf equity investors have regained nearly $15 billion (Dh55bn) of more than $28bn they lost during June as a result of a steady slide in most regional bourses in the second half of the month, according to official figures.

During the first two days of July, the combined market capitalisation of the seven official bourses in the six-nation Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) leaped by around $14.7bn and the bulk of the increase was in the UAE and Saudi exchanges, the Abu Dhabi-based Arab Monetary Fund said.

The UAE's two bourses of Abu Dhabi and Dubai recovered more than $6bn, while Saudi Arabia's Tadawul exchange regained around $8bn.

Kuwait's bourse remained almost unchanged while Qatar grew by around $1bn. There was also slight growth in the bourses of Oman and Bahrain.

The report by the AMF, which tracks daily share dealing in the Arab world's 16 formal exchanges, showed the combined market capitalisation of the seven GCC bourses surged to $1.156 trillion on July 2 from $1.141trn at the end of June.

The increase followed a drop in the capitalisation of around $29bn through the month and almost the entire loss was recorded in the second half.

"The increase in the past couple of days supports our argument that the decline in the previous two weeks had nothing to do with market fundamentals," said Zuhair Kiswani, Director of the Sharjah-based Al Sharhan Securities.

"Our expectations now are that the market will gradually begin to regain their balance and could grow in the next few weeks once the listed companies start releasing second quarter financial results, which we expect to be strong."

Dealers had differed on what exactly caused the decline of most GCC bourses during the second half of June.

While some blamed speculation, foreign market influences, and geopolitical tensions, others said the decline was more than a correction than a loss as it followed a few weeks of sharp increases.

Most of the 670 companies listed in the GCC bourses reported good results in the first quarter of 2008 and were expected to perform well in the second quarter.

During the first five months of this year, GCC bourses gained a staggering $145bn and the bulk of the increase was in Kuwait, Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

The Saudi Tadawal, the largest and busiest stock market in the Middle East, dived by nearly $46bn during that period mainly because of speculation.