After oil recovered from its Wednesday low, Gulf stocks climbed in early trade on Thursday.
Brent futures traded above $51 per barrel, supported by a fall in US crude oil inventories, after briefly dropping below $50 in the previous session.
Dubai's equities index rose 2.4 percent as almost all stocks gained.
Shares in bourse operator Dubai Financial Market surged 6.0 percent after economy minister Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri said the United Arab Emirates government would favour a merger of the main Abu Dhabi and Dubai bourses, although the decision was up to the exchanges themselves.
Other Gulf markets were also positive; Abu Dhabi's benchmark rose 1.2 percent, Kuwait's index edged up 0.8 percent and Oman climbed 0.3 percent.
Photo: The Arabian Post
