KUWAIT CITY, Oct 20: Kuwaiti stocks dived to a 19-month low on Monday on fears about the future of troubled investment companies in the emirate, but most other Gulf markets finished higher.

The value of trade was very low across the Gulf region as investors stayed away amid continued fears about the global financial crisis.

Investors are taking a wait-and-see attitude. There is still negative sentiment in all Gulf markets and traders prefer to wait with the cash to see what happens in the world, said Faisal Hasan, head of economic research at Kuwait’s Global Investment House.

The Kuwait Stock Exchange Index, the second largest in the Arab world, shed 3.7 per cent to 10,856.90 points to drop below the 11,000-point mark for the first time since May 2007.

Kuwaiti newspapers reported that investment companies have asked for a government bail-out to help them pay part of an estimated $22-billion- debt.

Central bank governor Sheikh Salem Abdulaziz al-Sabah told reporters on Saturday that local investment houses were affected by the global financial meltdown, but gave no details.

The investment companies index dropped 3.7 per cent while banks shed 2.2 per cent and market leader, the telecom giant Zain, dropped 7.7 per cent.

Since the start of October, the Kuwaiti market has slumped about 15 per cent despite the government spending billions of dollars to buy shares as the crisis on world financial markets spread to the Middle East.

The Saudi bourse, the largest in the Arab world, was trading just 0.4 per cent higher at 6,280.60 points midway through trade after opening up 2.2 per cent.

Saudi’s Tadawul All-Shares Index (TASI) had slumped a total of nine per cent over the previous two days after the market leader, petrochemical giant SABIC, announced a lower-than-expected rise in nine-month profits.

On Monday, the petrochemicals sector was down 0.5 per cent while banks dropped 0.2 per cent. SABIC shares were off 1.1 per cent.

Since the start of October, the TASI has tumbled about 15 per cent and is down 42 per cent on the year.

In the United Arab Emirates, the Dubai Financial Market Index finished up 2.95 per cent as the market leader, property giant Emaar, gained 6.1 per cent after nine-month profits were better than expected.—AFP