South Korea's central bank held interest rates steady for a third meeting on Thursday, as expected, after a 1-1/2-year-long tightening cycle and as both inflation and economic growth eased.
The United Arab Emirates has become a key trade hub for Russian gold since Western sanctions over Ukraine cut Russia's more traditional export routes, Russian customs records show.
Most major Gulf markets were range-bound on Thursday as the impasse in negotiations to raise the U.S. debt ceiling and avoid a default kept investors wary of risky assets.
CIBC reported a decline in second-quarter profit on Thursday, as the Canadian lender set aside higher provisions to prepare for soured loans due to a challenging economy.
Canada's two biggest lenders, Royal Bank of Canada and TD , missed analysts' estimates for quarterly earnings on Thursday as tough economic conditions spurred the banks to make higher provisions for borrowers falling behind on repayments.