The majority of Gulf stock markets follow rising oil prices

On Sunday, most Gulf stock markets experienced positive gains following the uptick in oil prices on Friday, contributing to the Saudi index's third consecutive rise. Oil prices, a significant influencer of the Gulf's financial markets, saw a slight increase on Friday. The International Energy Agency's prediction of record global demand and tightening supplies propelled prices to a seven-week winning streak, marking the longest such period since 2022.The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) maintained its forecast of a 2.44 million barrels per day (bpd) increase in global oil demand for the year. OPEC expressed optimism about the oil market's health in the latter half of the year.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index (.TASI) showed a 1.1% advancement, led by a 1.6% surge in the shares of the oil giant Saudi Aramco (2222.SE), marking its third consecutive session of growth. Aramco assured customers in North Asia that they would receive the requested volumes of crude oil for September, despite the kingdom extending its unilateral voluntary output cut. In Qatar, the index (.QSI) posted a 0.4% gain, supported by a 0.8% increase in the shares of petrochemical maker Industries Qatar (IQCD.QA). Beyond the Gulf region, Egypt's blue-chip index (.EGX30) closed 0.8% higher. On Monday, the Egyptian central bank announced plans to auction 600 million euros in one-year euro T-bills.