Insurance stocks led gains in Saudi Arabia, lifting the Kingdom's index from Sunday's 11-day low, and other sectors also rose after oil prices stabilize. The insurance index climbed 3.3 percent and banks gained 0.2 percent. The stock benchmark Tadawul All Share Index gained 0.34 percent to close at 6,103.78 percent Monday, trimming 2011 losses to 7.8 percent. Short-term retail investors often target insurance stocks when global markets are volatile, also favoring other sectors that rely on local, rather international demand. The petrochemical index recovered earlier losses to edge 0.05 percent higher. Saudi Basic Industries Corp. climbed 0.3 percent and Saudi Kayan Petrochemicals rose 0.3 percent. Oil prices rose in volatile trading on optimism Europe will resolve the debt crisis. Brent futures for November rose 21 cents to $104.18, while US light sweet crude oil rose 56 cents to $80.41 a barrel. Elsewhere, Qatar's bourse extended declines for a third session as banks weigh, but late buying helped stem losses. The main index slipped 0.2 percent to 8,385 points, but remained the top performing Gulf Arab market this year, falling 3.4 percent. In the UAE, Abu Dhabi's index ended 0.2 percent lower at 2,532 points, a near seven-month low. Dubai's index ended flat. Kuwait's benchmark gained 0.4 percent to 5,872 points, halting a three-session decline. Oman's bourse slipped in a regional downtrend. Muscat's index slipped 0.3 percent to 5,642 points, its lowest level since Aug 25. Meanwhile, the euro slumped about 0.5 percent after a brief rebound, trading near $1.3434. Spot gold prices fell $59.30 to $1,595.90. European and US shares rose Monday over a more ambitious bailout fund for the eurozone.
