MIDEAST STOCKS-Kuwait extends rally; UAE mkts slip off multi-yr highs

By Nadia Saleem

DUBAI, May 20 (Reuters) - Kuwait's bourse extended sharp year-to-date gains in heavy trading on Monday, while profit-taking weighed on bourses in the United Arab Emirates and other markets were mixed.

Kuwait's index .KWSE rose 1.3 percent to hit a fresh 46-month high, trading 111 million dinars ($387.9 million).

Companies owned by one of Kuwait's largest merchant families rose after a favourable court ruling.

Kuwaiti newspaper reports said Libya will have to pay the Kharafi Group $930 million in damages for former leader Muammar Gaddafi's cancelling of the construction of a vacation resort.

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Telco Zain ZAIN.KW gained 2.9 percent, National Industries Group Holding NIND.KW climbed 2 percent and National Investments Company NINV.KW rose 2.4 percent.

Most large-caps rose, pushing the bluechip Kuwait 15 index up 13 points.

"We expect the market to continue its positive performance and maintain above the 8,000 points level mainly driven by the positive sentiment and the new liquidity channelled to the market," said Fouad Darwish, head of brokerage at Global Investment House. The index closed at 8,126 points.

In Saudi Arabia, shares in developer Dar Al Arkan 4300.SE halted two sessions of sharp gains after the firm said in a bourse statement it would not be paying a dividend for 2012 as it looks to fund business growth. The stock fell 6.3 percent.

The kingdom's benchmark .TASI climbed 0.1 percent, up for a fourth-straight session to hit a fresh one-year high.

Bluechips supported gains, with the banking shares measure

.TBFSI adding 0.5 percent and the petrochemical sector index

.TPISI up 0.3 percent.

"I'm waiting to see if the positive momentum will continue - there aren't huge risks in the market right now but there also aren't huge rewards," said Faisal Al-Othman, portfolio manager at Riyadh-based Arab National Bank. "Sectors relying on local demand will be outperformers this year."

In the United Arab Emirates, profit-taking slowed the recent rally on the two main bourses.

Dubai's Arabtec fell 2.1 percent after thousands of workers at the firm staged a rare strike, demanding higher pay.

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The emirate's benchmark .DFMGI snapped a nine-session rally, falling 0.5 percent to trim year-to-date gains to 44.3 percent.

Abu Dhabi benchmark .ADI slipped off its 54-month high, falling 1.2 percent.

Turnover has surged on the two markets as fresh cash is chasing gains following a sentiment revival in the property and banking sectors.

"Foreign interest has been holding up markets but there is heavy retail buying now," said Amer Khan, fund manager at Shuaa Asset Management. "I wouldn't speculate where the money is coming from - this is a rich country."

Elsewhere, Qatar's measure .QSI gained 0.6 percent after breaching 9,000 points for the first time since January 2011 in the previous session.

Egypt's benchmark .EGX30 slipped 0.4 percent and Oman's measure .MSI retreated 0.1 percent.

MONDAY'S HIGHLIGHTS

KUWAIT

* The index .KWSE rose 1.3 percent to 8,126 points.

SAUDI ARABIA

* The index .TASI climbed 0.1 percent to 7,307 points.

DUBAI

* The index .DFMGI slipped 0.5 percent to 2,341 points.

ABU DHABI

* The index .ADI fell 1.2 percent to 3,523 points.

QATAR