Saudi Arabia's stock market consolidated below technical resistance early on Thursday while Egypt continued a rebound after a bout of heavy profit-taking.

The Saudi index was 0.1 percent lower at 9,561 points. Earlier this week it failed to break cleanly above resistance in the 9,572-9,745 point area, where the 200-day average roughly coincides with the March peak.

Most stocks were narrowly mixed. Among the active gainers, Al Rajhi Company for Cooperative Insurance climbed a further 4.1 percent after earlier this week reporting a 47 percent jump from a year earlier in first-quarter net profit, aided by strong growth in net contributions and lower policy acquisition costs.

Egypt's index rose 1.2 percent, building on Wednesday's 0.6 percent gain, which followed five sessions of declines. Investment bank EFG Hermes climbed 1.3 percent.

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates deposited $6 billion with Egypt's central bank on Wednesday, the bank's governor told Reuters. The news confirmed previous pledges of aid but may have aided market sentiment.