Feb. 3--KUWAIT STOCK MARKET GAINS 1.88 PERCENT: The Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) General Index closed 1.88 percent up at 6,957.7 points. 343,502,500 shares changed hands. Investment company TII closed 10 percent higher as real estate firms Al Aqaryia and Abyaar did.

KSA STOCK MARKET BUCKS THE GCC TREND: The Saudi Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) reversed the downtrend of previous days and gained 1.26 percent, closing at 4,790 points. Volumes were also slightly up. 111 stocks advanced, 8 lost and 6 closed steady. All sector indexes ganied ground. Tihama (Advertising up 9.88 percent) posted the largest gain.

DSM LOSES 1.08 PERCENT: The Qatari stock market index DSM closed at 5,012.71 points on rising volumes compared to yesterday. The main topic at the exchange today were the shares of Doha Bank which lost 2.56 percent after the institute reported a profit increase of 2.15 percent in 2008. Al Khaliji Commercial Bank topped the charts, gaining 1.92 percent.

ABU DHABI STOCK MARKET DIPS 2.20 PERCENT: Traders at the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) showed almost no resistance against the consistent slide at their market. The ADX Genaral Index closed at 2,145.46 points, down 2.20 percent on low trading volumes. Out of nine secotr indexes, only the Industrial Index advanced (up 1.51 percent) while the Real Estate sector index dipped almost seven percent. Banks were down 2.49 percent Yesterday, finance bellwether National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) declared a 34 percent fall in profits in the fourth quarter last year from the same period in 2007. Shares of NBAD closed 5.49 percent lower.

DFM LOSES FURTHER: The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) lost 1.26 percent and closed at 1,454.33 points on consistent worries about the emirate's economy. Leading rating agency Moody's declared it may downgrade six government-owned Dubai entities, among them Dubai Holding and DFM bellwether Emaar. Emaar closed 5.85 percent lower at Dhs1.88. Bahrain-baised Islamic Bank Salam advaced most among the six gaining stocks, up 5.88 percent. 23 shares declined and three remained unchanged. Volume was still low, 115,613,102 stocks changed hands.

UAE RESIDENTS SPEND 53.6 PCT. OF INCOME ON RENT, FOOD: A new government survey has found that UAE residents spend 53.6 percent of their income on housing and food on average. The Ministry of Economy's first household income and expenditure survey is part of its plans to develop a consumer price index (CPI). The survey said the average household income of a UAE family is Dhs36,438 ($9,927) per month, which is about 141 percent higher than the expat household income, estimated at Dhs15,074.