Dubai's main stock index fell sharply on Sunday in response to a weak global trend as most shares declined.
As of 12:30pm UAE time, the benchmark had dropped 6.67 percent to 4,613.37 points as heavyweight Emaar Properties tumbled 6.99 percent.
Abu Dhabi's index, which is generally less volatile than Dubai's, fell 1.0 percent.
Dubai stocks seen going southwards were Arabtec (down 9.56 percent), Dubai Investments (down 8.70 percent), Tabreed (down 9.09 percent), Gulf Finance House ( down 9.43 percent) and Union Properties (down 8.53 percent).
Global markets took a hit on Friday as investors fled to the safety of government bonds after a raft of weak indicators from Europe and China collided with concerns about the US Federal Reserve's plans to reduce monetary stimulus.
Other stock markets in the region, which open later in the day, could come under even greater pressure as they were closed last week when bourses in the United Arab Emirates posted some losses in line with global trends.
"The two markets that didn't suffer last week and should suffer more are Qatar and Saudi Arabia," Sanyalak Manibhandu, manager of research at NBAD Securities, told Reuters.
"They stand to underperform this week relative to DFM (Dubai's bourse) and Abu Dhabi."