JEDDAH: Higher oil prices lifted Gulf stock markets on Monday while Egypt’s bourse was sluggish after a corporate survey showed growth in business activity there slowed last month.

With Brent oilup 2.2 percent at $49.20 a barrel, Tadawul All Share Index climbed 1.2 percent as petrochemical blue chip Saudi Basic Industries added 1.6 percent.

Property developer Dar Al-Arkan continued to rise, gaining 1.5 percent, after Sunday’s news that the government plans to convert a state-owned housing fund into a bank, the latest measure to spur housing construction.

Even miner Maaden, which had tumbled 13 percent in the past three weeks as commodity-related equities around the world sagged, showed strength; it rebounded 2.5 percent.

However, moderate trading volumes suggested it was by no means clear that the Saudi market was starting any extended rally. PetroRabigh fell 1.2 percent after it said a 50-day maintenance shutdown of its refining and petrochemical complex at Rabigh, due to start on Oct. 11, was likely to cause gross profit for the fourth quarter of this year to drop by SR900 million ($240 million).

Dubai’s index added 1.8 percent to 3,659 points, also in moderate volume, nearing technical resistance around 3,700 points, which capped the market repeatedly last month.

Dubai Parks and Resorts, the most heavily traded stock, climbed 3.3 percent after local media reported the emirate’s transport authority had awarded a $68 million contract to build roads and bridges giving access to the company’s theme park complex, due to open next year.

Abu Dhabi gained 1.0 percent, buoyed by blue chip Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, which gained 2.6 percent to AED7.86. Late last week Global Investment House raised the stock to a “strong buy” from a “hold” with a target price of AED9.66; it said the bank’s loan growth was likely to be modest in coming years but predicted a dividend yield of 5.2 percent for 2015 and valued ADCB at 8.1 times 2016 earnings, versus a sector average of 11.0.

Qatar’s market edged up 0.2 percent with the most heavily traded stock, Mazaya Qatar Real Estate, advancing 2.1 percent.

In Muscat, National Bank of Oman climbed 1.7 percent after posting a 6.6 percent rise in third-quarter net profit to 14.93 million rials ($38.7 million), slightly above analysts’ mean prediction of 14.10 million rials. The Omani index rose 0.7 percent.

Bank Nizwa jumped 4.8 percent after Oman’s finance ministry said it would open subscriptions for the sultanate’s first sovereign Islamic bond issue — a major step toward developing the Islamic finance sector and improving the profitability of sharia-compliant banks by making it easier for them to manage liquidity. However, Al Izz Islamic Bank closed flat.

Egypt’s stock index edged down 0.3 percent after a purchasing managers’ survey showed the non-oil private sector expanded only marginally in September, with growth slowing from an eight-month high in August.

Investment bank EFG Hermes downgraded its assessment of the Egyptian market to neutral and removed Commercial International Bank (CIB) and El-Sewedy Electric from its list of the top 20 regional stocks.

CIB fell 0.6 percent while Sewedy lost 2.3 percent.