OREANDA-NEWS. February 16, 2015. A stronger oil price, bets on fourth-quarter results and dividends as well as positive news from local companies lifted most Gulf stock markets on Sunday. Oil closed higher for a second straight week on Friday after another drop in the US rig count, with Brent crude hitting a 2015 high above \\$60 a barrel.

The main Saudi index jumped 2.3 percent as petrochemicals giant Saudi Basic Industries Corp, which would benefit from higher oil prices, advanced by the same amount.

Property firm Jabal Omar surged 7.1 percent, extending a leg-up which started last week after the company said it had swung to a quarterly profit of 149.3 million riyals from a loss of 2.5 million riyals a year earlier.

Saudi Electricity Co, the biggest listed utility in the Gulf, surged its daily 10 percent limit.

The firm usually announces its annual dividend in the second half of February and investors may be betting on a generous payout.

Also, the stock gained this month after Saudi Arabia's central bank governor called for reforms to the country's lavish system of energy and water subsidies; higher electricity tariffs could benefit the company's bottom line, though the governor gave no indication that the government actually planned concrete action.

DUBAI, OMAN Dubai's index added 1.5 percent on the back of gains by developer Emaar Properties, which surged 4.6 percent ahead of its fourth-quarter earnings announcement.

After the close, Emaar said its profit for the quarter had risen 14 percent to 861.4 million dirhams, slightly ahead of OAB Invest's forecast of 828.8 million dirhams.

Meanwhile, Air Arabia fell 1.8 percent after reporting a 30 percent fall in fourth-quarter net profit, which it blamed on fuel hedging and oil's sharp drop at the end of last year.

Engineering firm Drake and Scull fell 1.1 percent after posting a 70 percent drop in fourth-quarter profit. Abu Dhabi's benchmark rose 1.5 percent as most stocks gained. Developer Aldar Properties, which last week posted a 61 percent increase in fourth-quarter profit, surged 5.8 percent.

Qatar's index climbed 0.7 percent and heavyweight Qatar National Bank, up 2.2 percent, was the main support.

Oman's Bank Nizwa jumped 2.3 percent after United Finance Co said its board had agreed in principle to merge with Nizwa. Oman's index edged up 0.3 percent.

Egypt's market added 0.4 percent amid a mixed performance by local stocks.

Real estate firm Medinet Nasr Housing and Development rose 1.4 percent after calling a shareholder meeting for March 5 to discuss a capital increase.

The company reported a 16 percent increase in 2014 net profit last week to 215 million pounds, beating analysts' average estimate of 187 million pounds.