JEDDAH: Gulf stock markets extended gains on Thursday after oil rebounded slightly from its Wednesday low and several companies made positive announcements.

Supported by a fall in US crude oil inventories, Brent futures traded above $51 per barrel on Thursday after briefly dropping below $50 in the previous session.

Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index climbed 1.9 percent in a broad rally.

Retailer Jarir Marketing 4190.SE, which on Wednesday posted a 25.5 percent jump in fourth-quarter profit, surged 6.3 percent.

Shares in Saudi British Bank (SABB) added 1.2 percent after it received approval to raise its capital by 50 percent to SR15 billion ($4 billion) through a bonus share issue.

Banque Saudi Fransi added 1.3 percent after its board recommended a cash dividend of SR0.5 per share for the second half of 2014. The lender paid no dividend in the same period last year and analysts had expected, on average, just SR0.16.

Dubai’s equities index rose 2.1 percent and shares in bourse operator Dubai Financial Market surged 6.0 percent after economy minister Sultan bin Saeed Al-Mansouri said the UAE government would favor a merger of the main Abu Dhabi and Dubai bourses, although the decision was up to the exchanges themselves.

Trading volume in Dubai continued to rise, a positive technical sign.

Qatar’s benchmark jumped 3.4 percent as local companies started announcing dividend payouts.

Gulf International Services jumped 2.9 percent after its board recommended a 5.5 riyal 2014 dividend, up from 2.0 riyals a year earlier. The firm said its business, which includes providing services to companies such as Qatar Petroleum, was unaffected by lower oil prices.