DUBAI: Egyptian shares rose, lifting the main index to a 35-month high, after the finance minister announced plans for a second economic stimulus package worth around 30 billion Egyptian pounds ($4.4 billion).

The spending, 25 percent more than previously announced and financed partly with aid from the Gulf, is to begin in January. Finance minister Ahmed Galal said 20 billion pounds would be spent on public investment, while the rest would cover a public sector minimum wage.

Cairo’s benchmark index rose 1.2 percent to 6,720 points, its highest level since January 2011, before president Hosni Mubarak was ousted.

“The market is reacting positively to the second stimulus plan and the confidence that they have the funds for this,” said Islam Batrawy, Cairo-based head of regional equity sales at NBK Capital.

Juhanya Food Industries jumped 5.5 percent and Commercial International Bank gained 1.0 percent.

In Abu Dhabi, banking shares that lagged the recent leg up by Dubai’s bourse played catch-up. The Abu Dhabi index climbed 1.3 percent to its highest level since September 2008; Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank rose 5.6 percent.

“There are a lot of investors looking for bulk buying in the banking sector as a whole on speculation about earnings and dividends,” said Hisham Khairy, head of trading for the institutional desk at MENA Corp. Companies will announce annual dividends and earnings after mid-January.

Waha Capital surged 14.9 percent to its highest level since September 2008 after the company said it would vote in favor of AerCap Holdings’ $5.4 billion acquisition of American International Group’s aircraft leasing unit.

The company is AerCap’s largest shareholder with a 26.3 percent stake, though if the deal is completed, Waha’s stake will be reduced to about 14 percent, it said.

Oman’s market gained 0.5 percent, outperforming most of the Gulf. On Monday, BP announced it would drill some 300 wells for gas under the Omani desert over the next 15 years in a $16 billion project that may give a significant boost to the economy, which is about $80 billion in size.