Dubai's bourse edges up in muted trade, with investors cautious about taking on more risk following recent volatility, while other markets trade near-flat. Dubai heavyweight Emaar Properties climbs 1 per cent and telecom operator du rises 0.3 per cent.

The emirate's index gains 0.2 per cent to 1,483 points, up for a third session in five but 15.5 per cent below March 5’s 16-month peak. Elsewhere, the Abu Dhabi, Oman and Qatar benchmarks are almost unchanged.

Kuwait’s index drops 0.3 per cent to 6,322 points, down for an eighth straight session as investors book early-year gains. The bourse is still up 8.7 per cent for the year.

Kuwait’s finance minister resigned on Thursday after opposition lawmakers accused him in parliament of failing to deal with alleged financial irregularities in his departments.

Saudi Arabia’s bourse fell 0.7 per cent to 7,014 points on Saturday, taking its May losses to 7.2 per cent. Dubai’s index has dropped 9.3 per cent so far this month and Abu Dhabi’s benchmark has fallen 1.6 per cent. Trading volumes have thinned out on growing worries that Greece will exit the euro bloc. “Our markets are driven by retail investor sentiment and they will only look at momentum trading,” says Ali Adou, portfolio manager at The National Investor.

“The UAE economy is sound and that’s why the downside is attractive to institutional investors. But those will not come in until there is clarity on the euro zone.”