The Egyptian Stock Exchange index rebounded strongly on Wednesday after two sessions of declines as positive sentiment generated by government efforts to reassure investors over President Mohamed Morsy's plans for the economy buoyed sentiment.
But Gulf markets were muted amid low volumes as investors preferred to remain on the sidelines in anticipation of quarterly results and global economic worries.
In Egypt, the benchmark climbed 3.4 percent as remarks by ministers at a Cairo conference helped allay unease generated by Morsy's weekend pledge to recover LE1 billion (US$164 million) from firms operating in Egypt.
"The market is strong across the board. This is on the back of the positive rhetoric that refuted everything Morsy said that had freaked out investors," said one trader, who asked not to be named as his employer does not permit him to speak to the media.
"What we are seeing today is the reversal of that," he said.
EFG-Hermes, an investment bank, was the most heavily traded stock in value terms, climbing 2.9 percent.
