Most stock markets in the Gulf closed up on Sunday, with shares in Saudi Arabia supported by higher oil prices, but banking shares dragged down Dubai's index.
On Friday, Brent crude settled up $1.51, or 5.1%, at $30.97 a barrel after US producers cut output, with the number of drilling rigs falling to a record low, and as more states moved ahead with plans to relax lockdowns.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark index gained 0.8% on Sunday, led by a 4.8% rise in Saudi British Bank and a 3.7% increase in Banque Saudi Fransi.
Elsewhere, oil giant Saudi Aramco was up 0.5%. Aramco is looking to restructure its deal to acquire a controlling stake in petrochemicals maker Saudi Basic Industries (SABIC) after a more than 40% drop in SABIC's value following a slump in oil prices and the coronavirus pandemic, Reuters reported citing two sources.
SABIC was up 1.3%.
In Dubai, the index retreated 1.1%. Dubai Islamic Bank, the United Arab Emirates' largest sharia-compliant lender, dropped 1.7%, while Emirates NBD Bank fell 1%.
Meanwhile, Emirates REIT, a Dubai-based Shariah-compliant real estate investment trust, said on Sunday it had found evidence of irregular trading activity that has contributed to its low share price and has reported it to regulatory authorities.
The shares were trading at $0.2 a share on Sunday compared with a net asset value (NAV) per share of $1.57 at the end of 2019. Emirates REIT said its board was in the final stages of evaluating options to increase share liquidity and the trust value.
The Abu Dhabi stock index ended 1.4% higher, with the country's largest lender First Abu Dhabi Bank rising 2.3%. Qatar's index added 1.2%, with petrochemical firm Industries Qatar rising 4.1%.
S&P Global Ratings on Friday affirmed Qatar's rating at "AA-", saying it believed the Arab country's government and external balance sheets will be able to provide sufficient buffers to withstand shocks. S&P maintained Qatar's outlook at "stable".
Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index was up 0.8% as Commercial International Bank rose 2.5%.