An Investigation of the Weak Form of the Efficient Markets Hypothesis for the Kuwait Stock Exchange

This article investigates the weak form of the efficient market hypothesis (EMH) for the Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE). In particular, it tests whether share returns on the KSE exhibit patterns which may be used to predict future share price changes. Ten filter rules are tested on weekly data for 42 firms over the period 1998–2011. The results suggest that the KSE was not weak-form efficient because patterns and trends were present in security prices. In addition, the results are consistent with the substantive literature which has argued that emerging stock markets are informationally inefficient, such as Fifield, Power and Sinclair (2005, 2008) and Xu (2010) and particularly those early studies of Al-Shamali (1989) and Al-Loughani and Moosa (1999) that looked at trading rules for the KSE. </jats:p

Corporate reporting and disclosures in the emerging capital market of Kuwait:the perceptions of users and preparers

The objective of this paper is to investigate the perceptions of users and preparers regarding financial disclosure practices in annual reports of Kuwaiti listed firms. To measure participants' views, a questionnaire survey was distributed in Kuwait between October and December 2012, to preparers (financial managers) and users (financial analysts) within Kuwaiti listed companies. The study compares between the perceptions of financial managers and financial analysts regarding disclosing information in corporate annual reports as well as the main obstacles facing the disclosure process and what the problems restricting the use of companies' annual reports. The study also seeks to investigate whether there is a perceived need for improving the usefulness of Kuwaiti companies' annual reports for decision-making. The results, based on 137 responses, indicate that accounting practices in Kuwaiti firms are firmly rooted in a decision-usefulness tradition with management and the board of directors viewed as the key audience for reporting information. Indeed, the annual reports of Kuwaiti listed companies are perceived as the most important sources of information. On the whole both users and preparers shared similar concerns regarding the volume of information contained within annual reports; however, their views differed in terms of identifying potential solutions. The results of the study are likely to have implications for decision makers, the academic community and accounting standard setters. 2018 Macmillan Publishers Ltd., part of Springer Nature

Predictable returns in an emerging stock market: Evidence from Qatar

This article investigates the performance of moving-average strategies and tests the validity of the weak form of the Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) for the Qatari Stock Exchange (QSE). This study uses statistical analyses and adopts the version of the variable moving-average rule where buy and sell signals are generated by comparing a share price’s short- and long-term moving averages. The data include the daily closing share prices of 44 Qatari-listed companies for the period 2004–2017. The analysis shows that the QSE is not weak form efficient because patterns and trends are present in share prices. Sectoral analyses suggest that securities in consumer goods and services, industrials and insurance are the most efficiently priced on the QSE. The evidence suggests that profitability depends on the moving-average strategy selected. The findings may thus benefit technical analysts, fund managers, accountants and academics. This study is one of the first to examine the market efficiency of the QSE using trading rules. This research also suggests the possibility of limited transparency and accounting disclosure in the QSE, which may help policy-makers devise regulations that could improve the QSE’s efficiency

The adoption of IFRS 8: The case of Qatari listed companies

The objective of this paper is compare the segmental information disclosures of Qatar companies under IFRS 8 for 2009 with disclosures under IAS 14R for 2008. This study found that the segmental disclosures under IFRS 8 have increased compared to the information published under IAS 14R. There is an increase in the number of companies disclosing segmental information while the number of business and geographic segments for which information was provided rose under IFRS 8. IAS 14R required items were still being provided in 2009, and the new segmental information required (if reviewed by the CODM) under IFRS 8 was also disclosed. As a result, the total number of segmental items disclosed increased. Moreover, the majority of companies identify the CODM as the chief executive officer. Thus, this research shows that IFRS 8 compliance amongst Qatari listed companies has resulted in an increase in the number of segments and items per segment disclosed. Copyright 2015 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.Scopu

MARKET EFFICIENCY OF THE AMMAN STOCK MARKET: EVIDENCE FROM THE EXAMINATION OF TRADING RULES

This paper tests the validity of the weak-form of the Efficient Market Hypothesis for the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) for a full sample and three sub-periods of that spanning period 2000-2012. The research uses statistical analyses and moving average rules and offers further evidence of the inefficiency of the Amman stock market when applying trading rules. The empirical results indicate that moving average strategies are successful in predicting the returns for the ASE Index and outperforming the naive buy-and-hold strategy. However, the findings for the sub-periods suggest a certain degree of improvement toward the efficiency achieved by the Amman stock market that has occurred from recent developments such as the introduction of new regulations and the development of market microstructures

Share valuation methods and data source-based accounting in an emerging stock market:the case of the Kuwaiti stock market

This paper uses a questionnaire survey to investigate share valuation methods and the sources of information employed by Kuwaiti investors; it compares the appraisal techniques and the sources of information employed by Kuwaiti investors to those used in other developed and emerging stock markets. The findings suggest that Kuwaiti investors behave like their counterparts in other stock markets; fundamental analysis is the main appraisal technique used by investors; technical analysis and risk analysis are ranked second and third, respectively. However, the usage of technical and risk analysis is much higher in Kuwait. Further, quarterly and annual corporate reports as well as newspapers, the Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) website, and charts are commonly studied by investors when valuing Kuwaiti shares. By contrast, communication with company management is not common since executives are usually unwilling to discuss their firm's performance with investors