(Sukuk.net - Khaleej Times) Gulf shares declined on concern a deepening global slowdown will turn into a recession, crimping profits at local real-state and financial companies.

Emaar Properties PJSC fell the most in more than a week. Gulf Finance House E.C., Bahrain's largest Islamic investment bank by market value, retreated as the lender said profit fell.

The Dubai Financial Market General Index lost 4.7 per cent to 3,102.65, while the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index retreated 3.8 per cent. In Saudi Arabia, the Tadawul All Share Index declined 1.7 per cent. The Bahrain All Share Index dropped 3.7 per cent, the most since Bloomberg started tracking the measure in July 2004.

"It's panic selling led by international funds which need liquidity to cover their losses," Bassam Ramahi, brokerage manager at Emirates Securities in Abu Dhabi, said in a telephone interview. "Those local investors who are following them will be the losers in the long run because you can't buy such big names so cheaply."

In the U.S. the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 3.6 per cent, while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 3.5 per cent on concern the economic slump will hurt corporate earnings. More than $10 trillion has been erased from the market value of shares worldwide this month as earnings decrease. Reports on October 24 showed the U.K. economy contracted for the first time since 1992 and growth in South Korea was the slowest in four years.

The DFM Index has lost 25 per cent this quarter. The measure trades at an average of 7.1 times estimated earnings that compares with a multiple of 11 for the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Emaar, the Middle East's biggest publicly traded real-estate developer, dropped 6.3 per cent to Dh5.62. The shares trade at 4.8 times estimated earnings.

Saudi Telecom declined 1.3 per cent to 58.75 riyals as the company said net income fell 4.1 per cent, missing analysts' estimates, as expansion costs hurt earnings.

Gulf Finance plunged 9.6 per cent, the most in almost three weeks, to $1.98 in Bahraini trading. The bank said third-quarter profit declined to $82 million.

Oman's Muscat Securities Market 30 Index slumped 8.3 per cent to 6,506.03, the lowest since August 2007. In Qatar the DSM 20 Index tumbled 8.9 per cent, the most since February 2000. The Kuwait Stock Exchange Index dropped 3.5 per cent, bringing the decline this month to 21 per cent.
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