Shares in some of Dubai’s biggest property and construction firms saw steep declines on Sunday, helping drag the overall market index down by 1.67%.
The builder Arabtec fell by 3.32% after a report in the Al Mal newspaper claiming that a plan to build a million housing units in Egypt had fallen through. Arabtec did not immediately comment on the report, which cited an anonymous source.
Shares in Emaar – the developer behind the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building – were down 1.46% in Sunday trading on the Dubai Financial Market. 
Rival developer Damac saw the biggest share selloff by value, with its share price closing down 3.45% at the end of the day.
The developer said in a bourse statement that it has proposed a cash dividend of at least 25% of paid-up share capital for 2015 and 2016 to be distributed as an interim and final dividend.
