DUBAI: Most Middle East stock markets fell on Thursday as oil prices and global emerging market equities extended their slump, but Saudi Arabia bounced off an eight-month low and edged up after dropping for seven sessions in a row.

The main Saudi Tadawul All-Share Index closed 0.3 percent higher at 8,013 points, having tumbled as much as 3.5 percent earlier in the day. Most local stocks turned positive by the end of the session, after heavy losses this month which saw the bourse lose $50 billion in market capitalization.

The market, which had shrugged off oil's weakness in June and July, finally began to adjust to it this month, and is down 11.9 percent so far in August.

In a Reuters poll at the end of July, Middle East asset managers were most bearish on the Riyadh bourse, citing its expensive valuations compared with the rest of the region.

But now some analysts say certain stocks are becoming more attractive. "We are seeing emerging opportunities in some stocks, but they are medium- and long-term, not short-term," said Abdullah Alawi, assistant general manager and head of research at Aljazira Capital in Riyadh.

"We might see some more stability in coming days but we don't rule out more pressure on the index. It's a very sensitive and sentiment-driven market at the moment."

One of the main supports for the index was Saudi Arabian Mining Co. (Maaden), which surged 4.3 percent. The price of copper, one of its products, rallied on Thursday, helped by a weaker dollar.

Other markets across the Gulf, which had previously performed better than Saudi Arabia, came under heavy pressure after US crude oil futures hit their lowest since 2009.

Dubai's index dropped 3.2 percent to 3,710 points, its lowest close in more than four months.

Technical analysis indicated a triple top formed by the peaks since April, and triggered this week, points down to the 3,600-point area.

Abu Dhabi fell 1.4 percent to 4,512 points and closed exactly on its May low of 4,512 points, which is a technical support level.

Qatar's market dropped 2.5 percent to 11,346 points, catching up with other Gulf bourses after outperforming in recent days. Kuwait's index, which had also outperformed, fell 1.9 percent, its biggest daily loss since late March.

Oman's benchmark slipped 1.0 percent to 6,090 points to an eight-month closing low of 6,090 points after Finance Ministry data showed the country had posted a budget deficit of 1.92 billion rials ($4.98 billion) in the first half of this year, against a 250.0 million rial surplus a year earlier, because of lower oil export prices.

Egypt's main index fell 0.9 percent to 7,173 points. Although local stocks were roughly equally split between gainers and losers, heavyweight Commercial International Bank (CIB), down 1.2 percent, set the direction for the benchmark.