Most stock markets in the Gulf closed higher on Monday as investors waited for a reading of U.S. inflation data later this week for insights into the Federal Reserve's monetary policy path.

Fed officials appear on track to cut interest rates this month after data showed the U.S. labor market remained strong but continued to cool in November.

U.S. employers added 227,000 jobs last month, a rebound from a hurricane-related slowdown in October, but the unemployment rate inched up to 4.2%, the Labor Department's monthly employment report showed on Friday.

According to the CME Group's FedWatch Tool, markets currently see a roughly 85% chance of a 25-basis-point rate cut this month.

The Fed's decisions impact monetary policy in the Gulf region where most currencies, including Saudi Arabia's, are pegged to the U.S. dollar.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index <.TASI> advanced 1.2%, led by a 4.1% jump in Al Rajhi Bank <1120.SE> and a 1.3% increase in oil giant Saudi Aramco <2222.SE>.

Oil prices - a catalyst for the Gulf's financial markets -climbed by more than 1% as top importer China flagged its first move toward a loosened monetary policy since 2010, aiming to bolster economic growth, state media reported citing a Politburo meeting.

In Qatar, the index <.QSI> gained 0.6%, with the Gulf's biggest lender Qatar National Bank <QNBK.QA> finishing 1.3% higher.

Dubai's main share index <.DFMGI> eased 0.1%, hit by a 2% fall in blue-chip developer Emaar Properties <EMAR.DU>.

The Abu Dhabi index <.FTFADGI> was down 0.1%.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index <.EGX30> lost 0.2%, weighed down by a 3.8% fall in E-Finance for Digital and Financial Investments <EFIH.CA>.

SAUDI ARABIA

<.TASI> leapt 1.2% to 12,097

ABU DHABI

<.FTFADGI> fell 0.2% to 9,251

DUBAI

<.DFMGI> down 0.1% to 4,848

QATAR

<.QSI> rose 0.6% to 10,421

EGYPT

<.EGX30> lost 0.2% to 31,005

BAHRAIN

<.BAX> eased 0.3% to 2,029

OMAN

<.MSX30> added 0.1% to 4,553

KUWAIT

<.BKP> gained 0.6% to 7,836

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