Most Gulf stock markets hardly moved in thin trade on Tuesday ahead of the Eidul-Azha holiday while ex-dividend stocks dragged down Dubai and Egypt rose on foreign inflows. Saudi Arabia's bourse was already closed for Eid, and most other markets in the Middle East will follow suit from Wednesday and reopen next week.
Dubai's index fell 0.8 percent as property developer DAMAC and telecommunications operator du fell 2.3 and 3.0 percent respectively as the period for claiming the next dividend on the stocks ended.
News of a $100 million debt issue, however, appeared to offset some pressure on DAMAC as investors may see it as a step towards expanding the company's business.
Abu Dhabi's bourse edged up 0.2 percent with most blue chips posting small gains.
Qatar's market slipped 0.3 percent in mixed trade with no clear direction, while Kuwait's index inched down 0.08 percent and Oman added 0.2 percent.
The Egyptian index climbed 0.8 percent as Commercial International Bank, the country's biggest lender, rose 1.2 percent. Bourse data showed that non-Arab institutional investors were net buyers of stocks.
Among the losers was Telecom Egypt, which edged down 0.4 percent. The stock has been under pressure since the company's chairman resigned on Saturday after just four months in office.