Saudi Arabia and Dubai emerged the leading performers among the Gulf Arab benchmarks on Monday, after positive corporate news spurred investors to buy bourse heavyweights. Saudi Arabia's benchmark rose 2.17 percent to 6,535.09 points. Saudi Basic Industries Corp surged to a 12-month high in intraday trading after reporting better than expected third quarter profit late on Sunday. SABIC's performance acted as a trigger for the index to also climb to a year high during the session. “Everyone was waiting for the SABIC number and it beat consensus,” said Fouad Dajani, vice president at Credit Suisse Saudi Arabia. “Combined with the pickup in sales in the US and China, this is very encouraging.” In Dubai, the benchmark gained 1.4 percent to 2,324 points. Dubai stocks also found support from news that government-owned developer Nakheel has repaid a $1.2 billion securitized bond prematurely. The index was lifted by real estate and construction stocks. Market bellwether Emaar Properties rose 3.5 percent. Abu Dhabi's index slipped 0.9 percent to 3,177 points. In Qatar, the measure fell 0.6 percent to 7,328 points. Shares in Qatar Commercial Bank fell 2.7 percent after Sunday's third quarter earnings fell short of forecasts on the back of loan losses, weighing on the Qatar index. “The market is in the process of digesting results, and is not happy with banking results,” said Keith Edwards, head of asset management at Doha-based investment company The First Investor. Bahrain's index fell 0.8 percent to 1,538 points. Kuwait's measure retreated 0.9 percent to 7,611 points. Muscat's benchmark declined 0.4 percent to 6,590 points. Analysts also pointed to a lack of catalysts to spur the Kuwait benchmark which fell for the third consecutive session. “There is a lack of any drivers in the market,” said a Kuwait
