The Dubai and Abu Dhabi benchmarks ended lower for the sixth session in eight yesterday as most Gulf Arab bourses declined, tracking renewed weakness on international markets ahead of the release of US jobless data.

“The global economy is still on drip feed, which is worrying when you think Lehman’s collapse was more than a year ago,” said Keith Edwards, head of asset management at Doha-based investment company The First Investor.

UAE stocks stuttered, again giving up much of the previous day’s gains to leave Dubai down 4.5% for the week, while Abu Dhabi has lost 3.4% over the same period.

Property-related shares were the hardest hit, with investors trying to reduce positions in subdued trading as Dubai’s volumes slumped to a seven-week low.

Emaar Properties fell 3.5%, Arabtec slid 3.8% and Deyaar lost 2.7%.

World markets fell on Thursday, with investors reducing positions ahead of the release of US jobs data later in the day, while US stocks also ended Wednesday on a weak note after a Federal Reserve policy statement said it was keeping interest rates at near-zero for ‘an extended period’.

Low rates are normally a boon for equity markets, but analysts said investors were more concerned with the gloomy tone of the statement, which dampened hopes for a swift economic recovery.

“The correlation between Gulf and US markets has been exaggerated – we’ve faced selling pressure all week after US markets fell sharply last Friday,” said Mohamed Abu Ghoush, head of equities brokerage at Ahli Bank.

The Dubai index fell 1.9% to 2,098 points, while the Abu Dhabi measure dropped 1% to 2,920 points.

Kuwait’s index advanced 0.1% to 7,334 points, the Omani measure fell 0.1% to 6,333 pointswhile Bahrain’s rose 0.1% to 1,507 points.