Institutions lead stock market liquidity with 8.9 billion dinars in purchases

Liquidity flows in the Kuwait Stock Exchange are increasingly shifting toward institutional investment, as data from the first eight months of 2026 revealed that Kuwaiti, Gulf, and foreign institutions and companies recorded purchases worth 8.9 billion dinars, accounting for 66.9% of total market purchases during the period. This reflects the significant weight this segment now holds in trading activity.

This trend aligns with Kuwait Bourse data showing that investment institutions accounted for 70.08% of total trading volume, compared to 29.92% for individuals, while international investors’ participation stood at 18.79%. These figures confirm that institutional presence has become one of the defining features of the Kuwaiti market’s structure.

According to a report on trading volume in the official market by trader nationality and category, total purchases on the Kuwait Stock Exchange between January 1 and August 31, 2026, reached approximately 13.4 billion dinars, involving the trading of 50.87 billion shares across roughly 3.35 million transactions.

A detailed analysis of the figures shows that institutions and companies alone accounted for nearly two-thirds of market purchases. These purchases were distributed unevenly among Kuwaiti, foreign, and Gulf institutions, with local institutions retaining the largest share, followed clearly by foreign institutions in second place. The total was distributed as follows: 7.1 billion dinars for Kuwaiti institutions and companies, 1.77 billion dinars for foreign entities, and 123.8 million dinars for Gulf institutions.

Kuwaiti institutions and companies led institutional purchase activity during the first eight months of the year, executing purchases worth 7.08 billion dinars against sales of approximately 6.86 billion dinars, resulting in net purchases of 221.7 million dinars. Based on their share of total institutional and corporate purchases in the exchange, Kuwaiti institutions and companies accounted for approximately 78.9%, making them the primary driver of institutional activity within the market.

This percentage indicates a significant shift in the nature of the Kuwait Stock Exchange. The rise in institutional weight does not rely solely on inflows from global institutions but is largely supported by an active local base of institutions and companies, complemented by foreign and Gulf capital.

Foreign institutions and companies ranked second, having executed purchases worth approximately 1.77 billion dinars during the period, representing about 19.7% of total institutional and corporate purchases. This figure gains further significance when compared to total foreign purchases, which reached approximately 2.1 billion dinars in the first eight months of the year. Of this total, roughly 1.8 billion dinars were attributed to institutions and companies, 315 million dinars to individuals, and nearly 2.4 million dinars to investment funds. Consequently, institutions and companies accounted for 84.8% of total foreign investor purchases, a key indicator of the changing nature of foreign presence in the bourse. It clearly shows that the majority of foreign capital trading in Kuwaiti stocks is institutional in nature, rather than linked to individual investors.

Gulf institutions and companies recorded purchases worth 123.8 million dinars during the first eight months, compared to 43.2 million dinars in purchases by Gulf individuals and approximately 118,900 dinars by Gulf investment funds. Gulf institutions and companies accounted for about 1.4% of total purchases by institutions and companies across the three nationalities, completing the picture of institutional distribution led by Kuwaiti entities, followed by foreign and then Gulf institutions.

In contrast to the strong institutional presence, individual investors maintained an important role in liquidity. Combined purchases by Kuwaiti, Gulf, and foreign individuals reached approximately 4 billion dinars during the first eight months. The majority came from Kuwaiti individuals, who executed purchases worth approximately 3.67 billion dinars, while foreign individuals purchased around 315 million dinars and Gulf individuals around 43.2 million dinars. Kuwaiti individuals thus accounted for approximately 91.1% of total individual purchases, confirming that the local individual investor remains a fundamental component of liquidity, despite the dominance of institutions and companies in total purchase value.

Kuwaiti individuals also recorded net purchases of 95.5 million dinars during the first eight months, after their total purchases reached approximately 3.7 billion dinars. The comparison reveals that institutional and corporate purchases of 8.9 billion dinars exceeded individual purchases of approximately 4 billion dinars by more than double, providing a clear picture of the disparity between the two segments in liquidity movement.