Saudi Arabia's main share market index rose on Sunday as investors continued to buy beaten-down petrochemical shares on hopes that oil prices may have bottomed out, while most other regional bourses were sluggish.

Brent oil's strong recovery above $50 a barrel last week made investors more comfortable with petrochemical stocks. Sector leader Saudi Basic Industries climbed 3.2 per cent to SR89.25 on Sunday, while four other stocks in sector were also among the 10 most-traded stocks and saw their prices surge. Analysts' median target price for Sabic is SR106, according to Thomson Reuters data.

The Saudi stock index rose 1.9 per cent to 7,827 points in active trade, testing technical resistance at 7,812-7,953 points, its highs in September and at the end of August. Among other big Saudi gainers, oil shipper Bahri, surged 8.9 per cent after its net profit for the three months to September 30 came in at SR510.3 million, up from SR84.85 million in the same period a year earlier. Albilad Capital had forecast SR300 million. Miner Ma'aden added 3.6 per cent in unusually heavy trade after saying it had started trial production at the Ad Duwayhi gold mine; the average annual production capacity of Ad Duwayhi was estimated at 180,000 ounces of gold. Commercial production is to start in the first quarter of 2016.

But Almarai, the Gulf's largest dairy company, slipped 0.6 per cent after reporting a 10.3 per cent rise in its third-quarter net profit to SR595.1 million; analysts had forecast SR602.9 million.

Dubai's market index edged up 0.2 per cent in thin trade. The most heavily-traded stock, GFH Financial, added 2.8 per cent.

Abu Dhabi's index added 0.4 per cent on buying of blue chips such as Aldar Properties, up 0.4 per cent, and First Gulf Bank, up 0.7 per cent. Qatar climbed 0.9 per cent as Vodafone Qatar, the most heavily-traded stock, surged 6.2 per cent in its largest volume since February.