The loss ranged between 3.06 percent for the Saudi market and 49.3 percent for the Egyptian bourse.

On weekly basis, regional bourses inched up mainly due to year-end window-dressing tactics and keenness on the part of investors to build up positions ahead of the annual corporate earnings, they added.

“Arab markets recorded major losses across-the-board in 2011 due to the Arab Spring revolts, other geopolitical developments and exacerbating fears about an early world recovery,” Wajdi Makhamreh, CEO of the Amman-based Noor Investments, told Arab News.

He expected the persisting euro zone debt ordeal and the escalating standoff between Iran and Western powers over the Iranian nuclear file and Tehran’s threats to close the Hormuz Straits to put additional pressure on regional markets in the new year.

“Oil prices will remain a crucial factor for Middle East markets as they decide the financial standing of oil-producing countries and their ability to accumulate surplus petrodollars that seek investment outlets,” Makhamreh said.

Saudi shares extended gains in the last weak of 2011, deriving momentum mainly from the unveiling by the world’s largest oil exporting country this week of a $187-billion public budget for 2012, the largest budget in the state’s history.

The Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) gained 1.4 percent on weekly basis, closing at 6,418.13 points.

On yearly basis, the Saudi benchmark lost 3.06 percent in 2011.

The value of Saudi traded shares exceeded SR30.69 billion last week.

“I believe the Saudi market has responded positively to the budget’s projections,” Saudi analyst Yassin Al-Jaffri said.

“I think Saudi stocks will advance further in the new year, buoyed by the fourth quarter results. We expect strong earnings for blue chips mainly petrochemical firms,” he added.

Kuwaiti shares firmed last week on what analysts described as window-dressing moves that seek to raise prices of listed firms for balance sheet considerations.

Kuwait’s KSE all-share index gained 0.3 percent last week, to close year at 5,814 points.

The benchmark of the Kuwaiti stock exchange plunged 16.41 percent in 2011, with the decline deriving additional force from local political turmoil, analysts said.

The United Arab Emirates stocks rallied last week ahead of the new year. Dubai’s all-share index gained 1 per cent closing at 1,353 points while Abu Dhabi’s benchmark rose 2.2 percent, closing year at 2,402 points.

On yearly basis, the Dubai and Abu Dhabi benchmarks plummeted 17 per cent and 11.68 per cent respectively.

Qatar’s index closed week almost unchanged at 8,780 points. The Qatari stock exchange was the only regional gainer in 2011 with the market’s benchmark up by 1.12 per cent on annual basis.

Bahrain’s index inched higher last week, closing at 1,144 points from last week’s close at 1,143 points. On yearly basis, the Bahraini index plunged 20.15 percent in 2011.

Jordanian shares rebounded this week with the all-share index of the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) gaining 0.9 percent to close year at 1,995 points which represents a 16.72-per-cent decline in 2011.

Egypt’s AGX 30 index, which measures the performance of the market’s 30 most active stocks, gained 0.2 percent on weekly basis, closing the year at 3,622 points.

On annual basis, the Egyptian benchmark sank 49.3 percent in 2011 with the market losing $32.24 billion due to the uprising that toppled the regime of President Hosni Mubarak.

Analysts expected the upward correction to continue at the Egyptian stock exchange in the first week of 2012, but said further declines could not be ruled out due to the ambiguity of the political scene and the absence of incentives.