Interdependence in Gulf Cooperating Stock Markets

Abstract

Historically, the stock and securities markets in the Gulf Cooperating Countries (GCC) have been limited in their capacity to raise international capital. Apart from the fact that many are simply not open to outside investment, they have been regarded as thinly traded, less liquid and less efficient than Western stock markets. Meaningful and comparable stock market data has only been gathered for less than four years. The GCC countries are striving to strengthen and expand their financial markets in relation to their listing, regulatory, trading and settlement procedures, as well as to improve transparency and informational efficiency. The GCC economies have much in common including their growing levels of economic development and trade integration, and also their collective contribution to world oil production. Bahrain has long been regarded as the most open of the GCC economies, but the question arises as to whether or not Bahrain drives the other GCC markets. This study focuses on both short and medium-term relationships using ordinary least squares regressions, vector auto regressive techniques, cointegration tests, pairwise causality, variance decomposition and impulse response analysis of daily indexed share market data to provide evidence of continuing cointegration and interdependence in stock markets in the GCC. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait markets are the major drivers of the other GCC markets.