During the first week of the second half of 2017, four of the region’s eight indices declined, with Saudi Arabia ranking last among its peers with a decline of -3%, followed by Kuwait at -1.2% and Abu Dhabi at -0.7% and Egypt at -0.2%. Meanwhile, the Dubai and Bahrain indices rose slightly over the week by +0.3% and +0.1%, respectively, while Oman remained unchanged during the same period.

According to experts at Al-Masa Capital, regional markets lacked any significant news throughout the week, with the exception of the Egyptian market, where the Central Bank announced another increase in its benchmark rate by 200 basis points. This comes on the heels of the recent increases recently in fuel prices by more than 40%, the implementation of a 1% increase in the value-added tax, and the increase in electricity prices.

Oil continues to hover around $46 per barrel, ending last week with a 4.2% decline.Developments in the broader economic landscape over the coming period, along with the expected second-quarter 2017 earnings, will be the main drivers of market performance.