Retail selling may pressure Gulf before Eid

Gulf Arab markets are likely to extend declines as retail investors cash out of positions ahead of the Eid al-Adha Islamic holiday, although in Kuwait a new state fund to invest in stocks could lend some momentum to shares.

"Day traders are dominating the market and they don't like to hold stocks over a long period of time," says Jasem al-Zeraei, supervisor of brokerage at National Bank of Kuwait.

UAE markets are already closed for Eid, while bourses across the region will be shut next week.

News reports that the Kuwait Investment Authority would be injecting money into the bourse could help boost volumes and lift the main index, Zeraei says.