Emaar, the developer behind the world's tallest tower in Dubai, fell 2.9 percent after it said on Sunday that profit fell 45 percent due to losses from associate firms.

Dubai's index ended 1.6 percent lower at 1,638 points, extending losses after Thursday's yearly high. Construction firm Arabtec tumbled 4.6 percent in heavy trading.

Abu Dhabi's index ended down 0.8 percent at 2,691 points — a 12-day low, with six of its top 10 largest stocks falling and property stocks hardest hit.

Aldar Properties fell 3 percent, accounting for a quarter of shares traded on the index.

"Real estate companies will be interesting to look at and their performance will be more indicative of the sector's situation and give a sense on whether we are really recovering," said Marwan Shurrab, vice-president and chief trader at Gulfmena Alternative Investments.

Bucking the downward trend, Saudi Arabia's index hit a three-month peak, led by petrochemical stocks, with the market tracking rising oil prices in the absence of a local catalyst. In a fourth straight gain, the Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) surged 1.07 percent to 6,684.70 points on Monday — its highest close since Jan. 26.

The petrochemical index rose 1.1 percent, with Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Co. up 5.3 percent, the largest gainer. It gained for a third day since Credit Suisse upgraded it to "outperform" from "neutral."

"Petrochemicals are currently the most favored by investors with heightened oil prices keeping the sector over a solid floor despite some stock specific profit-taking activity," said Amro Halwani, a senior trader at Shuaa Capital in Riyadh.

Large cap stocks Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) and Al-Rajhi Bank rose 1.1 and 1.3 percent respectively. The Saudi stock market turnover was over SR5.93 billion on Monday.

Elsewhere, Qatar's index shed 0.5 percent to 8,459 points as investors pulled back in absence of catalysts.

"There is weakness in liquidity — we don't have any news, no support," said Hani Girgis, assistant chief dealer at Dlala brokerage in Doha.

Qatar National Bank, the country's largest bank by market value, fell 1.1 percent while Masraf Al-Rayan dropped 1.8 percent.

The index ended down 0.5 percent to 8,459 points — its lowest close since March 31. Further selling pressure is forecast with the index closing between 8,300 and 8,500 points by April-end, Girgis said.

The Omani index slipped 0.3 percent to 6,325 points.

The Kuwaiti index rose 0.3 percent to 6,466 points.

The Bahraini measure climbed 0.2 at 1,403 points.