Real estate and bank shares plummet as markets open in the UAE

Dubai: Real estate shares in the United Arab Emirates slumped in early trading on Thursday, weighing on the Dubai and Abu Dhabi benchmarks.

Shares in Emaar Properties plunged 5.05 per cent, while Union Properties and construction firm Arabtec declined 4.29 per cent and 4.43 per cent respectively.

Dubai's index fell 3.32 per cent to 3,102 points.

In Abu Dhabi, Sorouh Real Estate and Aldar Properties declined 8.7 per cent and 9.08 per cent respectively.

Etisalat, down 2.82 per cent, is leading the decline on the main index, which declined 3.69 per cent to 3,462 points.

Banks are also badly hit, with National Bank of Abu Dhabi slipping 9.29 per cent and Union National Bank dropping 10 per cent.

Other Gulf markets are also falling on Thursday, extending the previous sessions' slide and tracking weakness in stocks markets across the world on growing global recession fears.