Drake & Scull again weighs on Dubai index, Saudi slips

DUBAI: Dubai contractor Drake & Scull  slumped again in early trading on Tuesday, dragging the wider index down, while a retreat among some Saudi blue-chips pulled the kingdom's index down.

Drake & Scull shares slid 10 percent to 0.81 dirhams  ($0.22) as retail sellers shed the stock amid concerns about its business outlook. Investors are also worried about the outcome of an ongoing investigation into its former management team.

Dubai Investments was another stock down, losing  1.6 percent.

Air Arabia was trading 0.6 percent up. The stock has been under pressure in recent sessions as investors remained anxious about its exposure to private equity firm Abraaj, which  this month filed for provisional liquidation.

Saudi stocks opened 0.7 percent down as investors sold some blue-chip stocks after a strong rally linked to Riyadh's inclusion in the MSCI emerging market benchmark.

Al Rajhi Bank, one of the main beneficiaries of that rally, was down 0.7 percent, while fellow lender Samba Financial Group was down 1.5 percent.