Most major Gulf markets ended higher on Sunday, reflecting Friday s rise in oil prices driven by prospects that an upbeat economic growth outlook from China could signal increased fuel demand in the world s second-largest economy.
Oil, which fuels the region s economies, settled up about $1 a barrel on Friday, with Brent crude at $87.63 a barrel, up $1.47 or 1.7%.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Wednesday that China s lifting of COVID-19 restrictions should bring global demand to a record high this year. OPEC also forecast a rebound in Chinese demand.
Saudi Arabia s benchmark index (.TASI) rose 0.4%, supported by a 1.5% gain in luxury real estate developer Retal Urban Development (4322.SE) and a 0.8% rise in oil giant Aramco (2222.SE).
Read more: Oil settles up more than 1% on China demand outlook, second weekly gain
Al Rajhi Bank (1120.SE), the world s largest Islamic bank by market capitalization, rose 0.5%.
The Qatari Stock index (.QSI) inched up 0.9%, with almost all its constituent stocks in positive territory. The Gulf s biggest lender Qatar National Bank (QNBK.QA) continued its rally with a 2.3% gain and Qatar Islamic Bank (QISB.QA) rose 1.3%.
Outside the Gulf, Egypt s blue-chip index (.EGX30) added 0.3%, helped by a 10.5% jump in Housing and Development Bank (HDBK.CA) and a 2.1% gain in El Sewedy Electric (SWDY.CA).
