Dubai stocks weaken in early trade, Saudi choppy

Shares in Dubai dropped in early trade Monday as investors cashed out of stocks which have made recent gains, while Saudi Arabia’s stock market was choppy.

In Dubai losers outnumbered gainers 14 to six and the index was down 1.0 percent.

Blue-chips Emaar Properties, which has been rising for three session, lost 1.7 percent, while Dubai Islamic Bank, which was a top gainer on Sunday, dropped 2.2 percent.

But the 0.6 percent gain in Etisalat, the largest listed stock and a constituent of the MSCI emerging market index, lent support to Abu Dhabi’s index which was up 0.04 percent.

Aldar Properties, the largest listed real estate stock by market value in Abu Dhabi, added 0.4 percent.

In Saudi Arabia the index was being tugged in opposing direction by the two largest sectors by market value.

The banking sector, which was the main laggard on Sunday, added 0.2 percent with the largest Islamic lender Al Rajhi Bank adding 0.9 percent.

But petrochemical shares were weak with Saudi Basic Industries, the largest listed stock, down 0.3 percent.

The index edged up 0.01 percent after 40 minutes of trade.

Source: Reuters