Drake & Scull International's stocks rose to a three-month high after the Dubai-based construction firm announced a new contract in Saudi Arabia.
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The announcement of a 130m Saudi riyal contract for works on a hospital in the Dammam province is the third major contract won in the last month.
The construction firm's stocks rose 1.6 per cent to 84.4 fils each on the Dubai market, their highest since September.
The Dubai Financial Market General Index rose 0.7 per cent to 1,394.82, while the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index increased 0.4 per cent to 2,452.57.
Emaar Properties' stocks rose 2.1 per cent to Dh2.77 each, the biggest gainer on the Dubai market.
In the capital, Etisalat's stocks gained 0.6 per cent, snapping a week-long string of losses.
Elsewhere in the region, stocks in Industries Qatar fell 0.3 per cent to 135.20 Qatari riyals each, as traders weighed the prospects for petrochemical manufacturers.
Saudi petrochemical companies' stocks will also be watched closely by investors after a legally binding agreement on carbon emissions was reached among nations meeting in Durban, including emerging market nations for the first time.
Saudi stocks made tentative gains yesterday, with the Tadawul All-Share Index rising 0.8 per cent to 6,302.84 even as a plan to tackle the euro zone debt crisis appeared to have stumbled at the first hurdle.
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