The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) commenced and ended in the red on Sunday, the first session of the week amid notable declines by all markets in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. The market’s benchmark index plunged by 6.54%, falling 323.29 pts to 4619.60 pts, registering its biggest loss since August 2013.

Turnover was seen at AED 1.7 billion as 621.6 million shares were exchanged through 12931 transactions.

Market performance came due to a collective dive of market sectors, led by the investment, services and real estate sectors, which dropped 9.85%, 9.70% and 8.36%, respectively.

Moreover, a total of 36 companies traded on DFM today, of which 33 were in the red, 2 were in the green and one remained stable. National General Insurance Co. (NGI) and National Industries Group Holding (NIND) were the only gainers, adding 4.99% and 0.84%, respectively.

Meanwhile, construction giant Arabtec topped losers, diving by 10% to AED 4.050. Arabtec’s share was the most active by trades today, after 2199 transactions were executed on the stock.

Earlier today Gulf stock markets were hit by a collective wave of declines during Sunday’s morning trades, after all markets resumed operations following the Eid Al Adha holidays. Experts and market observers noted that the declines coincided with similar performance in global markets at the end of last week, added to increasing tensions in the region owing to the growing power of ISIS in the Syria and Iraq.

On his part, Gamal Aggag, general manager of Al Sherhan Stocks and Bonds Centre, told Mubasher over the phone that the DFM’s significant decline came as a surprise today and contrary to expectations, as the market had witnessed a strong wave of selling on many stocks. Global market and geopolitical news also impacted today’s session, he added.

Commenting on Emaar Properties’ share decline, Aggag noted that the share declines were unjustified and unexpected particularly after the Company approved a cash dividend of AED 9 billion to its shareholders.

On another note, head of trading at Daman Securities Walid Al Khateeb told Mubasher that DFM stock prices are currently too expensive to buy. Moreover, there are some fears that the market will witness more declines than gains in turnover and trade volume.