By: Mahmoud Gamal

Mubasher: The Gulf stock markets are expected to decline on Monday as investors anticipate which direction oil prices will take after they severely fell last week, in line with the current Qatari diplomatic rift, analysts told Mubasher.

GCC market investors are anticipating the price of Brent crude oil which settled at $46.71 per barrel (pb) on Friday; this level will threaten the stability of the Gulf countries’ economies once it remains stable or falls below $40 pb, capital market analyst Ibrahim Al Filkawy said.

If the oil prices rise above the $50 pb-level, this will have a positive impact on stock markets in the GCC and the region, the analyst added.

At the geopolitical level, the investors are awaiting the new developments of the situation with Qatar, as the foreign ministers of the US, Germany, UK, and the EU will hold talks with Kuwait to issue a resolution regarding the current geopolitical tension, Al Filkawy noted.

The GCC stock markets are expected to keep fluctuating in the coming period until the financial statements of the first half of 2017 are disclosed, capital market analyst Mohamad Al Azmi said.