The Tadawul All-Shares Index in Riyadh, the Gulf's leading stock market, shed 549.51 points, or 6.86%, on Sunday © AFP/File Fayez Nureldine Stock prices in Gulf states nosedived on Sunday in a massive market sell-off sparked by descending oil prices, with the Saudi and Dubai bourses leading the slide.

The Tadawul All-Shares Index in Riyadh, the Gulf's leading market, shed 549.51 points, or 6.86%, to close at 7,463.32 points.

The kingdom's all-important petrochemicals industry lost 7.94%, while the real-estate sector tumbled 9.50%.

In Dubai, the leading DFM Index slumped 6.96% to close at 3,451.48 points.

Real-estate developer Emaar Properties lost 8.31% while builder Arabtec Construction, another market leader, dropped 9.6%, nearing its 10% daily limit.

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange plunged 5%, while Qatar Exchange, the second largest in the Gulf, lost almost 5.3%.

The Kuwait Stock Exchange shed 2.36%, while Muscat Securities Market and Bahrain lost 2.94% and 0.37%, respectively.

The falls across the region come after oil prices slid to new lows during trade Friday, with New York's light sweet crude plunging to $40.04 per barrel, the lowest level since March 2009.

World stock markets were also hammered with heavy losses on Friday, as China's economic woes triggered European and Wall Street equity sell-offs and stirred up fears for global growth.