A sharp rise in oil prices boosted demand in Saudi Arabia's petrochemical stocks pushing the index to a three week high, while Gulf bourses were buoyed on hopes that the euro zone crisis was nearing resolution. Oil prices rose Monday, with Brent crude futures near $111, extending gains from last week on after jitters on supply risks from Iran. “Rebounding petchem prices and a noticeably less risk-averse local investor base this morning all contributed to push petchems higher today,” said a Riyadh-based trader. The Saudi stock benchmark climbed 10.96 percent to close at 6,228.16 points, its highest close since Nov. 14. Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) gained 3.2 percent, Yanbu National Petrochemical climbed 4.2 percent and National Industrialization rose 1.8 percent. “Overall, valuations are pretty attractive right now,” said Muhammad Faisal Potrik, petrochemical analyst at Riyad Capital. “It's just a sentiment weakness that's been keeping petchems low.” Yamamah Cement jumped 6.4 percent after saying its board has proposed a 50 percent capital increase through bonus shares. In a bourse statement, it said capital would increase to SR2 million from SR1.3 million. Elsewhere, Qatar benchmark climbed 0.3 percent to 8,781 points. Oman index gained 0.5 percent to 5,536 points. Dubai index slipped 0.4 percent to 1,399 points. Abu Dhabi index declined 0.1 percent to 2,47 points. Kuwait measure edged up 0.2 percent to 5,838 points. Bahrain measure eased 0.05 percent to 1,157 points. In Qatar, investors are betting on MSCI upgrading the country to emerging market status, which could potentially bring in fresh funds from foreign investors.
