Saudi, UAE markets extend weekly gaining streak

Stocks in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia extended their weekly gaining streak, boosted by rising oil prices and improving business activity in the non-oil sector.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark stock index added 1.7% in its fourth consecutive weekly gains, as Brent crude has risen in four of last five weeks, according to Refinitiv data.

Sentiment was also boosted by a survey showing Saudi Arabia's non-oil private sector expanded for the ninth consecutive month in May.

The stock index was up 0.4% on Thursday, rising for an eighth straight session, helped by a 4.3% jump in Saudi Telecom .

The Dubai index fell 0.5% but logged its fifth weekly gain in a row. Emirates NBD Bank dropped 1.4% and Damac Properties declined 3.5% for the day.

Abu Dhabi's index closed down 0.3%. Emirates Telecommunications Group and First Abu Dhabi Bank shed 0.8% and 0.4%, respectively. The stock index registered a fifth weekly rise.

The United Arab Emirates' non-oil private sector expanded for a sixth consecutive month in May, a survey showed.

Qatar's index fell 0.5%, wiping out its gain for the week. The index was down 0.1% for the week.

Commercial Bank led the losers, shedding 1.6%. The lender offered to buy an additional 15.2% stake in National Bank of Oman for 49.4 million rials.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index was down 0.7% with Fawry For Banking Technology And Electronic Payment and Commercial International Bank dropping 3.2% and 0.1%, respectively.

The Egyptian index posted its third consecutive weekly drop, down 1.8%.

Egypt's non-oil private sector contracted for a sixth consecutive month in May, with HIS Markit's Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI)stood at 48.6 - below the 50.0 threshold that separates growth from contraction.