DUBAI: Most major stock markets in the Middle East fell on Sunday as investors resumed profit-taking ahead of the Eid Al-Adha holidays, against a backdrop of large share flotations and falling oil prices.

Saudi Arabia's main Tadawul All-Share Index fell 0.8 percent to 10,674 points in a sell-off that affected all sectors. Like Dubai, the market is being affected by a large IPO as National Commercial Bank prepares to float next month.

The stock exchange will close for the whole week starting on Sunday, Oct. 5.

Dubai's bourse led the decline, sliding 1.3 percent to 4,991 points with most stocks in the red. Leading real estate developer Emaar Properties fell 0.4 percent after rising as much as 2.6 percent earlier in the session.

The firm's subsidiary, Emaar Malls Group (EMG), closed subscriptions for its initial public offer last Friday and is due to announce the final offer price on Monday.

Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters last week that the offer's institutional tranche had been subscribed 7.5 times at the top end of the 2.50-2.90-dirham price range, while the retail tranche was subscribed 20 times.

That means the IPO, which is expected to raise $1.58 billion, attracted as much as $17.8 billion in total, or a fifth of the market capitalization of Dubai's main index. The prospectus does not set an exact date for the refund of surplus IPO funds but says it must be done no later than Oct. 1.

The large, temporary outflow of funds is one of the reasons behind the market's weakness, said Shakeel Sarwar, head of asset management at Securities & Investment Co. (SICO) in Bahrain.

Among other factors are strong year-to-date returns, which has left many stocks fully valued for now, as well as the upcoming Eid Al-Adha holiday and declining oil prices. The price of Brent crude has fallen 16 percent from its June peak and moved below $100 per barrel this month for the first time in more than a year.

Saudi Arabia, in particular, could swing to a state budget deficit next year and start running down its huge foreign reserves if it does not rein in the growth of government spending, the International Monetary Fund said last week. Most economists expected the Saudi economy to continue growing solidly, and the government could easily cope with a budget deficit by drawing on past surpluses or borrowing from the market. Nevertheless, the prospect seems to be dampening the mood of some investors.