Qatar shares end lower, tracking region

Qatar's main share index ends down led by financial stocks and tracking other markets in the Gulf Arab region which is gearing up for the announcement of third-quarter earnings. The index closes 0.37 per cent lower at 7,596.32 points after seven of the 20 listed firms ended higher. Market heavyweight Industries Qatar adds 0.6 per cent.

But these gains were offset by declines that mainly affected the financial sector. National Leasing Co leads losers with a 2.01 per cent drop and Qatar Commercial Bank, Qatar Islamic Bank and Qatar Islamic Insurance shed 1.83, 0.88 and 0.59 per cent respectively. Kuwaiti shares rise 0.63 per cent, driven by Zain ending 2.9 per cent up. Bahrain's benchmark ends up 0.7 per cent.