DUBAI, March 28 (Reuters) - Most Gulf stock markets edged up on Tuesday although trading volumes were generally low, while Emaar Malls jumped in Dubai after the company appeared to lose a contest with Amazon.com to acquire Middle Eastern online retailer Souq.com.
Emaar Malls
EMAA.DU
added 3.6 percent, outperforming Dubai's stock index
.DFMGI
, which dropped 0.2 percent.
The company's shares had dropped 2.8 percent in the previous two days on news it was making an $800 million bid to acquire e-commerce operator Souq.com, which could have put it in a bidding war with Amazon.com
AMZN.O
. The U.S. company had agreed in principle to buy Souq.com.
In a report, investment bank Exotix listed possible concerns for minority shareholders in Emaar Malls' bid, including whether the online retail industry had synergies with retail mall management, and whether buying Souq.com would be an optimal allocation of capital.
On Tuesday, Amazon.com
AMZN.O
and Souq.com said jointly that Amazon had agreed to acquire the Middle Eastern firm, apparently ending the battle.
Seven of Dubai's most heavily traded stocks fell and two were flat; Emaar Malls was the only gainer among them.
Abu Dhabi's index
.ADI
edged up 0.1 percent and Qatar
.QSI
rose 0.3 percent, buoyed by Vodafone Qatar
VFQS.QA
, which gained 4.4 percent and was the most heavily traded stock.
The Saudi Arabian index
.TASI
rose 0.3 percent. Saudi Automotive
4050.SE
, which offers services to motorists, saw unusually heavy trading and was the most active stock; it surged 4.1 percent.
Riyad Bank
1010.SE
lost 1.9 percent and Saudi Public Transport
4040.SE
fell 3.0 percent as the two stocks went ex-dividend.
In Kuwait, Kuwait Insurance Co
KINS.KW
sank 3.6 percent as it went ex-dividend but the market index
.KWSE
gained 0.3 percent.
TUESDAY'S HIGHLIGHTS
SAUDI ARABIA
* The index
.TASI
rose 0.3 percent to 6,873 points.
DUBAI
* The index
.DFMGI
fell 0.2 percent to 3,447 points.
ABU DHABI
* The index
.ADI
edged up 0.1 percent to 4,470 points.
QATAR
* The index
.QSI
rose 0.3 percent to 10,462 points.
KUWAIT
* The index
.KWSE
gained 0.3 percent to 7,052 points.
EGYPT
* The index
.EGX30
edged up 0.1 percent to 12,983 points.
OMAN
* The index
.MSI
fell 1.1 percent to 5,543 points.
BAHRAIN
* The index
.BAX
dropped 0.4 percent to 1,378 points. ((andrew.torchia@thomsonreuters.com)(+9715 6681 7277)(Reuters Messaging: andrew.torchia.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))