DUBAI - Gulf markets opened lower on Wednesday as financials weighed on Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabian shares, while Qatar and Dubai were slightly down.
Abu Dhabi's index was down 0.5 percent, pulled down by a 0.4 percent drop in First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) and a 0.6 percent decline in Emirates Telecom (Etisalat).
Saudi Arabia shares index were down 0.3 percent with Samba Financial Group falling 1.7 percent and National Commercial Bank 1180.SE shedding 0.8 percent.
Jarir Marketing was up 2.3 percent on the Saudi bourse after reporting an estimated 10 percent increase in second quarter profit.
In Dubai, the index was down 0.1 percent with major developers Emaar Properties falling 1.0 percent and DAMAC Properties 0.9 percent lower.
The Dubai real estate sector has been a drag on the exchange this year with analysts expecting weak property values to fall further on excess supply.
Qatar shares were down 0.1 percent as Commercial Bank fell 1.5 percent and Qatar National Bank (QNB) was 0.3 percent lower.
Bahrain-based broker SICO said in a report QNB could post a net profit of 3.47 billion riyals ($952.90 million) in the second quarter, little changed from a year earlier based on a consensus estimate.
(Reporting by Alexander Cornwell; Editing by Richard Balmforth) ((Alexander.Cornwell@thomsonreuters.com))
