Major stock markets in the Gulf rose in early trade on Thursday as investors shifted focus to upcoming corporate earnings announcements and rising oil prices.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index gained 0.2%, with Al Rajhi Bank rising 0.6% and oil behemoth Saudi Aramco climbing 1.4%.

Most Gulf Cooperation Council economies will expand steadily this year and next on rising oil production, according to economists in a Reuters poll who upgraded this year's growth expectations for Saudi Arabia - the region's biggest economy.

Oil prices - a catalyst for the Gulf's financial markets - rose around 1% after U.S. President Donald Trump said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had pledged his country would stop buying oil from Russia, a move that could drain supply elsewhere.

Dubai's main share index added 0.3%, buoyed by a 5.2% jump in top lender Emirates NBD (ENBD). Earlier this week, Reuters reported that ENBD is in talks to buy a stake in Indian private lender RBL Bank, via a preferential issue. The Reserve Bank of India, the country's banking regulator, has backed the proposal in informal discussions, Reuters reported.

On Wednesday, RBL Bank said it will consider a proposal to raise funds at its board meeting on October 18.

In Abu Dhabi, the index rose 0.3%, with Multiply Group jumping 3.9% after the investment holding company's board approved a plan to acquire 2PointZero and Ghitha Holding through a share swap.

Conglomerate International Holding Co - which also owns Multiply Group - announced plans on Wednesday to merge several of its portfolio companies into a single investment holding company valued at 120 billion dirhams ($32.67 billion).

The Qatari index was up 0.8%, led by a 2.9% rise in Qatar Islamic Bank .

($1 = 3.6729 UAE dirham)

(Reporting by Ateeq Shariff in Bengaluru; Editing by Ronojoy Mazumdar)