Zain surged 9.3 percent to 1.18 dinars, its highest finish since Nov. 4.

Dubai ended a two-day debt-inspired slump, dividend seekers lifted Oman to an 18-week high and Saudi Arabia rose for a fifth day as banks extended gains following a ratings upgrade.

The Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) increased 0.79 percent to close at 6,382.31. Once again, only three negative sectors brought TASI to a positive close, however  losses were in the Insurance, Multi-Investment and Agriculture & Food Industries sectors, which saw losses of 0.02 percent, 0.21 percent and 0.40 percent respectively. All other sector closes were positive, with gains ranging from 0.08 percent in the Energy & Utilities sector to a gain of 1.44 percent in the Petrochemical Industries sector. Overall market breadth was positive with 65 advancers and 40 decliners recording an AD ratio of 1.63, the Jeddah-based Financial Transaction House (FTH) said in its daily market commentary.

Dubai's index rose 0.5 percent to 1,622 points, trimming its losses to 3.2 percent since a Sunday media report said Dubai World may offer only 60 cents on the dollar to creditors as part of the conglomerate's multi-billion dollar restructuring.

Arabtec and Dubai Financial Market each rose more than 2.6 percent as traders speculated on their likely full-year earnings, but index volumes slumped to an 11-week low.

The Abu Dhabi benchmark climbed 0.7 percent to 2,730 points.

Oman's index hit its highest finish since Oct. 12. The index climbed 0.7 percent to 6,701 points.

The Qatari index rose 0.1 percent to 6,913 points.

The Bahrain index was flat at 1,502 points.
 
- With input from agencies