Most stock markets in the Gulf sank on Monday as battles between Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and Israel ignited fears of a wider conflict in the Middle East. Israel said its troops backed by helicopters had also killed a number of armed infiltrators entering the country from Lebanon, further raising concerns fighting could spread two days after Hamas gunmen burst in from Gaza on a deadly rampage.

Dubai's benchmark index slumped 2.6%, the sharpest fall since June last year. The index was dragged down by losses in all sectors with real estate developers Emaar Properties and Emaar Development dropping 4.4% and 5% respectively. The emirate's largest lender Emirates NBD sank 1.9% and Dubai Islamic Bank dropped 3.3%.

In Abu Dhabi, the benchmark index retreated for a fourth consecutive session and ended 1.3% lower, the lowest since May as almost all the stocks on the index were in negative territory. State-owned oil major ADNOC's units Abu Dhabi National Oil Company for Distribution and ADNOC Logistics lost 3.8% and 1.9% respectively. Among the losers, the UAE's largest lender First Abu Dhabi Bank slipped 1.2% and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank shed 2%, while blue-chip developer Aldar Properties slumped 2.9%.

The Qatari index fell for a fourth straight session, ending 1.7% lower, with all stocks in the red. The region's largest lender Qatar National Bank dropped 2.6% and Qatar Islamic Bank slid 1.7%.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index recovered some of previous session losses, ending 0.2% lower after it slumped 1.6% in last session, the sharpest decline in 10 months. The kingdom's largest lender Saudi National Bank dropped 2.2% and Saudi Basic Industries shed 1.8%. However, Etihad Atheeb Telecommunication rose 1.5% and the world's largest Islamic bank by assets, Al Rajhi Bank gained 1.2%.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index recouped some of previous session losses and rose 0.3%. The index was helped by gains in finance and communications sectors with Commercial International Bank rising 1.7% and Telecom Egypt adding 2.2%.

  • SAUDI ARABIA fell 0.2% to 10,575
  • KUWAIT lost 1.6% to 7,236
  • QATAR dropped 1.7% to 98,36
  • EGYPT added 0.3% to 19,410
  • BAHRAIN lost 0.4 to 1,941
  • OMAN added 0.2% to 4,752
  • ABU DHABI dropped 1.3% to 9,631
  • DUBAI declined 2.6% to 4,056

(Reporting by Md Manzer Hussain; Editing by Alison Williams)