DUBAI - Qatar's market outperformed Gulf peers on Monday, helped by a surge in blue-chip stocks and government plans to allow full foreign ownership of companies.

Other markets were more subdued as investors reacted to lower oil prices, which extended losses after Saudi Arabia and Russia said they may increase supplies. Trading volumes were also generally thin because of the holy month of Ramadan.

The Qatar index closed 1.5 percent higher, with Qatar National Bank rising 2.9 percent.

The region's largest bank has been bolstered in recent months by its move to increase its foreign ownership ceiling to 49 percent from 25 percent to boost its weighting on global indexes.

Industries Qatar, which has the largest weighting in the index, closed up 2.8 percent.

Qatar stocks have also been boosted by a government announcement last week that it was moving ahead with a draft law to allow full foreign ownership of companies.

Saudi's main stock index dropped by 0.1 percent. Jabal Omar Development slipped by 3.3 percent, while Banque Saudi Fransi sank by 2.4 percent.

Al Andalus Property Co dropped by the daily limit amount of 10.0 percent after the stock went ex-dividend.

The Abu Dhabi index was up 0.2 percent, helped by a 1.9 percent rise in Dana Gas after it said it had received $40 million in payments from the Egyptian government.

Dana said it will use the cash to proceed with projects such as drilling Balsam-8 in its development lease onshore the Nile Delta.

In Dubai, DP World DPW.DI rose 3.0 percent after the ports operator said it closed a deal to acquire Cosmos Agencia Mar?tima in Peru. DP World had announced the $315.7 million acquisition of the logistics service business in March. 

Dubai's index closed 0.07 percent lower, with Union Properties the main drag, falling 1.9 percent.

In Egypt the index was up 0.9 percent. Real estate company Talaat Mostafa Group Holding rose 3.3 percent after it said it had entered into a strategic partnership with EFG Hermes and GEMS Education to acquire schools with an investment of 1 billion Egyptian pounds ($56 million).

SAUDI ARABIA

* The index was down 0.1 to 7,963 points.

 

DUBAI

* The index fell 0.1 percent to 2,930 points.

 

ABU DHABI

* The index rose 0.2 percent to 4,547 points.

 

QATAR

* The index increased 1.5 percent to 9,125 points.

 

KUWAIT

* The index was 0.2 percent up to 4,692 points.

 

BAHRAIN

* The index was 0.2 percent down to 1,260 points.

 

OMAN

* The index was up 0.5 percent to 4,591 points.

 

EGYPT

* The index was up 0.9 percent to 16,791 points.

($1 = 17.8700 Egyptian pounds)

(Reporting by Tom Arnold Editing by David Holmes) ((tom.arnold@thomsonreuters.com))