The january effect: empirical evidence from middle east region

According to the Efficient Market Hypothesis developed by Eugene Fama, it is unlikely to predict price movements in the markets. However, deviation from the mean of stock returns is observed and patterns appeared during certain periods, so-called anomalies. In this perspective, this research endeavors to figure out the existence of January Effect in 10 countries in the regions of the Middle East (Egypt, Israel, Amman, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Morocco, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Turkey) by employing Power Ratio methodology. Although the results obtained within the range of the analyzed period differ from each other, only the outcomes of Turkey and Israel demonstrates the absence of January Effect. In other words, the predictable pattern or price movement emerged except that the two countries are in the Middle East.