Petchems Lift Saudi Arabia, Egypt Up

Saudi Arabia's stock index edged up in early trade after oil prices appeared to stabilise, while Egypt's bourse continued to recover from a bout of profit-taking.

The main Saudi index rose 0.2 percent. Shares in petrochemicals giant Saudi Basic Industries (SABIC) added 0.4 percent and most other stocks were also in the black.

The market came under pressure earlier this week as oil prices extended losses, prompting concerns that the government may start cutting expenditures.

Brent crude held above $78 a barrel on Thursday as the market waited for news on possible cuts in oil output ahead of an OPEC meeting next week.

Egypt's benchmark rose 0.6 percent as shares in property developer Talaat Moustafa Group (TMG) jumped 2.1 percent. NBK Capital said this week it was reviewing its recommendation and fair value for the stock after third-quarter results.

"Based on the results posted by TMG and some other listed developers in Egypt, in our opinion, real estate sales in Egypt continue to exhibit a strong momentum," it said in a note.

"Therefore, we continue to see a strong outlook for TMG over the medium term, given its existing land bank and the underlying strength in the market.