The BLOM index closed at 1,691.32 points -- a two-year high -- up from the previous session's close of 1,613.03 points.

Solidere's A share rose 9.9 percent to close at $25.11, and its B share went up 9.1 percent to $25.00.

Rival leaders resumed contact this week in a bid to end the country's 17-month-old political crisis and secure the election of a new president. Lebanon has been without a president since November and the contacts have raised hopes that the election might go ahead at a parliamentary session scheduled for May 13. -Reuters