Gulf Arab bourses rose on Thursday as investors took heart from a global stock rally and government measures designed to limit the impact of the global financial crisis on their economies.

Dubai extended gains into a third day, pushed up by real estate stocks as Emaar Properties soared nearly 10 per cent.

'Emaar is seeing some speculative buying. People are diving in on the hope we've formed a bit of a bottom here,' said Matthew Wakeman, managing director for cash and equity-linked trading at EFG-Hermes.

'It's the stability in global markets that is giving them the confidence to do this,' he said.

Construction company Arabtec ended limit up for the third trading day in a row after it said on Tuesday it would raise its capital through a bonus share issue.

In Kuwait, the benchmark closed up over 1 percent after the government said a planned state investment fund would start buying into the country's bourse before Eid.

National Bank of Kuwait and Kuwait Finance House both jumped more than 6 per cent. The Doha benchmark rose 2.46 percent, led by Nakilat which gained more than 5 percent.

'Global sentiment has changed and Nakilat shares were among those that saw the most pressure from foreigners in the last few months,' said Samer Al-Jaouni at Middle East Financial Brokerage Company.

Measures by the Qatari authorities to address the global financial crisis as well as strong cash dividends announced on the country's bourse were also helping confidence, Jaouni said.

In October, the Qatar Investment Authority said it would buy up 20 percent of listed banks' capital.

The benchmark closed up 3.03 percent at 1,928 points, having lost nearly 70 percent of its value since the beginning of the year.

Dubai Financial Market (DFM) soared 9.48 percent, while Dubai Investments Company climbed 6.48 percent.

The Abu Dhabi index closed up 1.31 percent at 2,720 points, led higher by heavyweight Etisalat, which rose 2.92 percent.

Sorouh Real Estate and Aldar Properties rose 5.3 percent and 3.4 percent respectively. 'It's institutional buying. They are adjusting their portfolios before year-end,' said Nadine Wehbe, senior market analyst at Orion Brokers.

The Kuwait index closed up 1.31 percent at 8,728 points. Commercial Bank of Kuwait rose 1.61 percent.

'What is happening in international markets is giving short-term confidence in Kuwait,' said Ammar Hajeyah, assistant manager at Global Investment House, adding that he saw the market staying in a 8,500 to 9,000-point range in the short-term.

The Doha benchmark ended 2.46 percent higher at 5,724 points. The index has lost more than 40 percent since January.

Qatar National Bank and Industries Qatar ended 2.34 percent and 2.5 percent higher respectively.

Oman's main index closed up 1.38 percent at 6,125 points, led higher by banks stocks. Bank Muscat and National Bank of Oman climbed 2.15 percent and 2.96 percent respectively.

The Bahrain benchmark gained 0.72 percent to 1,927 points. Al Ahli United Bank and Gulf Finance House rose 1.33 percent and 4.96 percent respectively.-Reuters