Most stock markets in the Gulf ended higher on Thursday as investors shifted focus to upcoming corporate earnings announcements and rising oil prices.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index inched up 0.1%, helped by a 0.7% rise in Al Rajhi Bank and a 1.3% increase in oil behemoth Saudi Aramco. Elsewhere, Advanced Petrochemical climbed 2.7% on upbeat third-quarter earnings.

Dubai's main share index gave up early gains to finish 0.2% lower, hit by a 3.2% slide in Dubai Electricity and Water Authority as the utility firm traded ex-dividend. However, the index's fall was cushioned by a 5% jump in top lender Emirates NBD. 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. The next wave of earnings could be crucial in determining whether the Dubai market can sustain its recent rebound, especially given its solid fundamentals and growth projections for the year, said George Pavel, general manager at Naga.com Middle East.

In Abu Dhabi, the index added 0.2%, with Multiply Group surging 6.9% 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). According to Pavel, the potential for continued gains could be capped by a prevailing bearish outlook for oil prices. Oil prices - a catalyst for the Gulf's financial markets - were stable as market traders prepared for a potential halt to India's Russian oil imports, which could boost demand for supplies from elsewhere.

The Qatari index advanced 1.5%, ending four sessions of losses, led by a 4% leap in Qatar Islamic Bank. The Sharia-compliant lender is set to announce its third-quarter earnings on Wednesday. Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index edged 0.1% higher, with tobacco monopoly Eastern Company gaining 0.9%.

  • Saudi added 0.1% Arabia to 11,697
  • Abu Dhabi up 0.2% to 10,144
  • Dubai eased 0.2% to 6,029
  • Qatar advanced 1.5% to 10,851
  • Egypt rose 0.1% to 37,677
  • Bahrain gained 0.1% to 1,971
  • Oman was up 0.7% to 5,290
  • Kuwait rose 0.4% to 9,378

($1 = 3.6729 UAE dirham)

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