DUBAI: Saudi Arabia and Dubai were the leading performers among the Gulf Arab benchmarks on Monday, after positive corporate news spurred investors to buy bourse heavyweights.

Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) surged to a 12-month high in intraday trading after reporting better than expected third quarter profit late on Sunday. SABIC’s performance acted as a trigger for the index to also climb to a year high during the session. “Everyone was waiting for the SABIC number and it beat consensus,” said Fouad Dajani, vice president at Credit Suisse Saudi Arabia. “Combined with the pickup in sales in the US and China, this is very encouraging.”

The benchmark TASI rose 2.2 percent to 6,535 points.

Dubai stocks also found support from news that government-owned developer Nakheel has repaid a $1.2 billion securitized bond prematurely. The index was lifted by real estate and construction stocks. Market bellwether Emaar Properties rose 3.5 percent.

“The Dubai market finished on a good note on the Nakheel repayment,” said Haissam Arabi, chief executive and fund manager at Gulfmena Alternative Investments. “The market’s performance today was a reaction to Nakheel; but we are due for a correction at some point. Valuations were stretched today, and regional markets remain highly correlated with US markets.”