Saudi Arabia's stock market closed higher on Sunday, extending its rally ​into a ⁠fifth session, with energy stocks leading the advance, while Qatar's index edged lower ‌as investor sentiment remained pressured by the escalating war in the region.

Oil prices surged ​on Friday with Brent trading over $90 per barrel for the first time since April 2024 ​as disruptions ​to global oil supplies continued because of the expanding U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index climbed 2.1%, with all of its constituents posting ⁠gains, led by energy and materials stocks.

Saudi Aramco advanced 4.1%, its highest intraday percentage gain in nearly four years, and Yanbu National Petrochemical surged 10%.

"In a week defined by escalating regional geopolitical risks, the Saudi equity market has provided ​an outstanding financial ‌resilience," said Ahmad ⁠Assiri, research strategist ⁠at Pepperstone.

"The initial selloff last Sunday proved short-lived as institutional and retail sentiment stabilised by ​midweek," he added.

"The catalyst for this turnaround was, unsurprisingly, the ‌energy sector. As geopolitical uncertainty drove global ⁠oil prices higher, the Saudi market's heavyweights most notably Saudi Aramco began to act as a natural hedge."

Elsewhere in the Gulf, Muscat's index .MSX30 climbed 2%, while Bahrain's index .BAX added 0.2%.

The Qatari benchmark .QSI slipped 0.1%, weighed down by a 1.4% drop in Qatar Islamic Bank and a 4.8% loss in Qatar Aluminium Manufacturing .

Kuwait's index .BKP eased 0.3%, with most stocks in negative territory. Kuwait Petroleum Corporation began cutting oil output on Saturday and declared force majeure, adding to earlier ‌oil and gas reductions from Iraq and Qatar as the ⁠U.S.-Iran war blocked shipments from the Middle East for ​the eighth consecutive day.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt’s blue-chip index slid 1.6%, with most stocks declining. Commercial International Bank lost 3.2%, while Fawry for Banking Technology slipped 4%. 

 (Reporting by Md ​Manzer Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Helen Popper and David Holmes)