Abu Dhabi's stock index fell sharply on Wednesday, hurt by a slide in First Abu Dhabi Bank, while Qatar was pulled down by Industries Qatar
March 6 (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi's stock index fell sharply on Wednesday, hurt by a slide in First Abu Dhabi Bank , while Qatar was pulled down by Industries Qatar , after both shares went ex-dividend.
The Abu Dhabi index fell 2 percent, declining for the fifth straight session with First Abu Dhabi Bank , the country's largest lender, slumping 4.5 percent.
The bank announced a cash dividend of 0.74 dirhams last month.
Qatar's index fell 0.9 percent as market heavyweight Industries Qatar slid 4.6 percent and Mesaieed Petrochemical lost 2.1 percent.
The Saudi index dipped 0.2 percent with National Commercial Bank sliding 0.4 percent and Saudi Basic Industries shedding 0.3 percent.
Saudi Pharmaceutical Industries And Medical Appliances fell 0.4 percent after its full-year net profit dropped to 100.8 million riyals ($26.88 million) from 148.5 million riyals a year earlier.
But Abdullah Abdul Mohsin Al Khodari Sons gained 3.3 percent after it called for a shareholder meeting to discuss capital restructuring through a number of options including dissolution of the firm.
The Dubai index was down 0.3 percent with Tabreed decreasing 2.4 percent and Amlak Finance falling 1.9 percent.
Dubai property prices have been slipping from their mid-2014 peak and were partly behind the index's worst performance in local currency terms compared with other major global markets last year.
Although Dubai stocks have rallied this year, led by strong fourth-quarter results at real estate companies, an expected further fall in property prices is capping gains.
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