Most Gulf bourses closed higher yesterday amid earnings optimism, but Kuwait's market slipped to a fresh seven-month low as political turmoil and weak banking sector earnings weighed on investor sentiment.

In the United Arab Emirates, struggling developer Aldar Properties said second-quarter net profit increased three-fold, buoyed by delivery of 1,058 high-end residential beach units. Share in Aldar, now near-majority owned by government fund Mubadala after being thrown two financial lifelines by the state, gained 1.6 percent to its highest close since March 28.

Abu Dhabi’s measure rose 0.8 percent, up for a third straight session to a near-four-month high.

In Dubai, real estate-linked stocks helped lift the index . It climbed 1.1 percent, extending year-to-date gains to 16.2 percent. Drake and Scull (DSI) jumped 2.2 percent, rallying to a mid-April high ahead of its earnings. An average of three analysts expect the contractor to post a profit of 46.7 million dirhams for the three months to June 30.

Contractor Arabtec halted Wednesday’s 4-percent slide and trades flat. Investors sold the stock in the previous session after the firm reported a quarterly loss on increased costs. “People are switching from Arabtec and other builders to DSI, based on a consensus recommendation,” said Talal Touqan, head of equity research at Al Ramz Securities.

“Research houses were recommending selling Arabtec and buying DSI for a while and this has been confirmed by the results of Arabtec. The share price (of DSI) was way undervalued when traded around 0.74 dirhams in early June.”

Emaar Properties advanced 2.1 percent, extending gains to 33 percent so far this year. There is sustained demand for the stock after second-quarter earnings more than doubled.

In Qatar, the index hit a 10-week high, rising 0.2 percent.“Volumes have improved and we’re seeing an even mix of institutional and retail investors,” said Ahmed Shehada, head of trading at QNB Financial Services. “Qatar’s bluechips have reported solid quarterly earnings and while the market shrugged off the reportings, the value has always been embedded but a catalyst was missing.”

The market was predominantly retail investors in recent weeks, with short-term retail traders targeting mid to small-cap stocks. But upbeat sentiment in regional peers has brought interest back to Doha’s stock market, with comparatively-attractive valuations acting as a draw, he added.

Qatar National Bank gained 1.4 percent, Qatar Electricity and Water rose 1.6 percent and Barwa Real Estate added 1.1 percent.

In Kuwait, the bourse slipped to a fresh seven-month low with the index ending 0.2 percent lower at 5,699 points. Trading volumes were thin on the bourse with investors risk averse and sticking to the sidelines The index is almost at the critical technical level of 5,694 points, the seven-and-a-half year low hit of Jan. 9.

Members of parliament again boycotted a session of the country’s assembly on Tuesday, foiling an attempt to swear in a new cabinet and further highlighting the political travails hampering the state.

Despite posting a 5.4-percent drop in second-quarter net profit on Wednesday, Commercial Bank of Kuwait gained 5.5 percent. Egypt’s index slipped for a second successive day, down 0.7 percent. Developer Talaat Moustafa, which on Wednesday posted an 11-percent drop in H1 net income, slid 0.2 percent, following a 2.3-percent fall on the previous day.