News

Jan 4 (Reuters) - Most stock markets in the Gulf ended higher on Thursday on the back of rising oil prices, with the Saudi index leading the gains.

Oil - a catalyst for the Gulf's financial markets - rose by about 1%, extending gains amid concerns over Middle Eastern supply after disruptions at an oilfield in Libya and heightened tensions relating to the Israel-Hamas war.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index .TASI advanced 1.8%, buoyed by a 5% jump in Elm Co 7203.SE and a 6.9% surge in the country's biggest lender Saudi National Bank 1180.SE.

However, petrochemical makers and cement companies were mostly in negative territory.

Several Saudi Arabian companies released regulatory filings late Wednesday and on Thursday, saying state energy company Saudi Aramco's decision to raise feedstock and fuel prices for this year will increase production costs and reduce earnings.

Among the losers, Saudi Basic Industries Corp 2010.SE finished 1.7% lower, whereas Yamama Cement 3020.SE slid 3.2%.

Separately, the kingdom estimates financing needs of about 86 billion riyals ($22.93 billion) in 2024 under a borrowing plan approved by Finance Minister Mohammed Al Jadaan, the National Debt Management Center (NDMC) said.

The Qatari benchmark .QSI increased 0.5%, with petrochemical firm Industries Qatar IQCD.QA gaining 1.2%.

Dubai's main share index .DFMGI was up 0.2%, helped by a 1.5% rise in toll operator Salik Co SALIK.DU.

In Abu Dhabi, the index .FTFADGI fell 0.7%.

Minutes of the Fed's Dec. 12-13 meeting released on Wednesday showed a growing sense among policymakers that inflation was under control and raised concerns about the risks of "overly restrictive" monetary policy on the economy.

Most Gulf currencies are pegged to the dollar and any monetary policy change in the United States is usually mimicked by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index .EGX30 eased 0.2%, hit by a 2.3% fall in tobacco monopoly Eastern Co EAST.CA.

SAUDI ARABIA

.TASI rose 1.8% to 12,145

ABU DHABI

.FTFADGI lost 0.7% to 9,650

.QSI added 0.5% to 10,434

BAHRAIN

.BAX was up 0.5% to 1,973

.BKP added 0.3% to 7,649

($1 = 3.7501 riyals)

(Reporting by Ateeq Shariff in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)

((AteeqUr.Shariff@thomsonreuters.com; +918061822788;))

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