Insurance drags Saudi index.

Insurance stocks dragged the Saudi index lower as investors cash in some of this year's stellar gains.

Twelve of Saudi Arabia's listed insurers fell by more than eight percent, extending Sunday's losses.These included Malath Cooperative Insurance and Reinsurance Co and Arabian Shield Cooperative Insurance Co, which have both fallen by a fifth over the past four sessions.Arabian Shield is still up by around 100 percent so far this year, with many other insurers making similar advances and the biggest gainers, such as Sabb Takaful, have more than tripled in value in 2009.The bubble has burst," said Hesham Abo-Jamee, Bakheet Investment Group head of asset management."This was pure speculation and investors are now selling up."These losses are weighing on the Saudi index, which slid 2.4 percent to 5,911 points as the blue chips also retreat, with Samba Financial Group dropping 3.7 percent.But the index's slump was unlikely to continue for more than a couple of days, said Abo-Jamee, as it is supported by a robust economic outlook for the economy of the world's largest oil exporter."Banks should see profit growth of between 10 and 20 percent in the second quarter and improving oil prices will boost private and public sector revenues," he added.Dubai's index ended lower, dragged by Emaar Properties, which fell 2.4 percent following Sunday's double-digit surge.Stocks across most sectors retreated, with Deyaar falling 3.1 percent, Arabtec down three percent and Dubai Islamic Bank losing 1.3 percent."There's no reason for the gains and losses of the past couple of days," said Ayman el-Saheb, Darahem Financial Brokerage director of operations.

Source; arabianbusiness.com