Gulf bourses fell sharply on Thursday, tracking a global stock market rout as fears of a recession continued to mount.

"The negative sentiment prevailing on global markets continues to weigh on regional markets," said Rami Sidani, head of Middle East and North Africa investment at Schroders Investment.

Markets in the Gulf tracked falls in Asian stocks while negative sentiment was exacerbated by Wednesday's trading on Wall Street, which suffered its worst day since the 1987 stock market crash.

"If we weren't looking at what is happening abroad I would expect a good bounce from these levels," said Mohamed Alami, senior equity trader at Naeem Shares & Bonds in Dubai.

Positive quarterly earnings for Gulf companies were ignored as investors focused on the global financial crisis.

Commercial Bank of Qatar posted its second-biggest quarterly profit in the third quarter after market hours on Wednesday and National Bank of Oman beat most analysts forecasts to post a 25.4 percent rise, but shares in both companies fell.

The Saudi bourse is closed on Thursdays.

DUBAI :  The benchmark, already down more than 42 percent this year, led falls in the region, plunging 6.53 percent to 3,204 points.
Emaar Properties fell 9.66 percent and Dubai Islamic Bank lost 7.84 percent. Commercial Bank of Dubai shares were unchanged after it said on Wednesday it posted a 19 percent rise in third-quarter profit.

ABU DHABI: The main index, off more than 22 percent this year, fell 4.51 percent to 3,366 points. Emirates Telecommunications Corp (Etisalat) declined 5.11 percent and First Gulf Bank 9.36 percent. Union National Bank fell 3.52 percent after it said on Wednesday that its third-quarter net profit more than doubled to 610.8 million dirhams ($166.3 million).

OMAN: Muscat's main measure slid 5.74 percent to 7,248 points. Bank Muscat fell 8.58 percent and National Bank of Oman declined 5.35 percent. "Everybody is watching the US," said Sankar Kailasam, head of research at Gulf Investment Services. "There is a fear of a global recession spilling into the region."     

QATAR: The benchmark fell 3.64 percent to 7,803 points. Qatar Commercial Bank led losses falling 6.7 percent. "The 7,300 point level is a key support level," said Samer Al Jaouni, general manager of Middle East Financial Brokerage Co in Dubai. "If we go below that we will easily go below 7,000 points."         

KUWAIT: The main index fell 1.5 percent to 11,543 points, extending falls into a fifth day. National Bank of Kuwait declined 2.25 percent and Kuwait Finance House 2.68 percent.

BAHRAIN: The measure, down nearly 15 percent this year, closed 1.17 percent lower at 2,318 points. Bahrain-based United Gulf Bank  was unchanged after it boosted its third quarter profit ten-fold on Wednesday.  -Reuters