Amman  - Arab stocks lost further ground this week as investors were cautious over the persistent Iranian nuclear standoff and the half-year results of listed firms, financial analysts said Friday.

However, they expected regional bourses to recover in the coming couple of weeks when semi-annual results are expected to be out.

"We believe political developments and uncertainty as to the second quarter results still put downward pressure on stock prices," an Amman-based portfolio manager told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

"However, we think regional stocks will benefit in the coming weeks from the half-year corporate profits and the surging oil prices," he said.

Saudi shares suffered more losses this week despite better-than- expected results for blue chip firms, particularly in the banking sector.

The Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) of the Saudi exchange shed 1.52 per cent this week, closing at 8,861.24 points from 8,998.28 points last week.

TASI is currently 19.7 per cent lower than the year's start, according to the weekly report of the Riyadh-based Bakheet Investment Group (BIG).

"The Saudi market has been affected by other bourses in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and global stock markets," the report said.

BIG expected market moves to be "rather cautious" until the release of results of blue chip companies, particularly the Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC).

Jordanian shares plunged over the past couple of days, apparently in response to leaks by the local press that the government was mulling the imposition of a tax on the profits of stock trading.

However, despite a denial by the government on Wednesday, prices at the Amman Stock Exchange declined a further 1 per cent on Thursday.

The ASE all-share price index closed the week at 4,563 points, marginally higher than last week's close at 4,556 points, according to the market's weekly report.

Kuwaiti shares rebounded on Thursday after declining for three weeks in a row and analysts said that prices could be bottoming out.

The KSE all-share price index lost 0.6 per cent this week, closing at 14,807 points from 14,895 points last week.

The benchmark price of the United Arab Emirates stock exchanges of Dubai and Abu Dhabi shed 2.3 per cent this week, closing at 5,872 points from 6,011 points last week. (dpa)