DUBAI: Dubai’s main share index declined 2.5% on Monday, on course to mark its biggest intraday fall since June last year, as almost all the stocks on the index were in negative territory including blue-chip developer Emaar Properties, which retreated 2.6%.

Among other fallers, Shuaa Capital plunged nearly 10% as the board seeks to extinguish anticipated losses through capital reduction and simultaneously raising equity capital. In Abu Dhabi, the index dropped 1.3%, with the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) biggest lender First Abu Dhabi Bank losing 1.9%.

Separately, the UAE has launched its first wind project of commercial size, making use of technology to exploit low wind speeds, as it pushes to boost renewables before hosting the COP 28 climate summit next month.

The Qatari benchmark fell 1.8%, with Qatar National Bank - the Gulf’s biggest lender - falling more than 2%. Qatar’s foreign ministry issued a statement on Saturday saying that Israel alone was responsible for the ongoing escalation of violence with the Palestinian people, and called for restraint from both sides.