Gulf stocks extend gains as oil rebounds; Dubai shares up 2.4%

Gulf stock markets rose in early trade on Thursday after oil rebounded slightly from its Wednesday low and global bourses rose.

Supported by a fall in US crude oil inventories, Brent futures traded above $51 per barrel on Thursday after briefly dropping below $50 in the previous session.

Dubai's equities index rose 2.4 per cent as almost all stocks gained.

Shares in bourse operator Dubai Financial Market surged 6 per cent after economy minister Sultan bin Saeed al-Mansouri said the UAE 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 per cent, Kuwait's index edged up 0.8 per cent and Oman climbed 0.3 per cent.