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KUWAIT CITY, Nov 20, 2008 (AFP) - Gulf stock markets were trading mixed on the last day of the week Thursday as Kuwaiti shares continued their recovery on the back of a government rescue plan.
The Kuwait Stock Exchange, the second largest bourse in the region, was trading higher for the third day in a row after the government said it will set up an 11-billion-dollar fund to buy shares on the market.
The KSE Index was up 0.6 percent after fluctuating in initial trades, spurred by a strong four percent gain by the leading banking sector. Only one of the eight sectors dropped.
The new fund will start operations in a few days to buy between five and 10 percent of selected stocks on the market.
The two United Arab Emirates bourses were the only losers.
The Dubai Fnancial Market Index was trading 3.6 percent lower as the real estate sector shed 5.8 percent. Market leader, real estate developer Emaar lost 6.2 percent.
The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange dropped 1.4 percent as the leading real estate sector slipped 2.9 percent.
Doha Securities Market was up 0.5 percent, Muscat Securities Market added three percent while the Bahrain Stock Exchange was 1.2 percent higher.
The Saudi market, the largest in the region, is closed for the weekend on Thursday. It finished the week down 11 percent.
The Saudi market is open Saturday through Wednesday, while other Gulf bourses operate Sunday through Thursday
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