FTSE and S&P reviews boost stock market liquidity to 146 million dinars
Ali Ibrahim
Trading on the Kuwait Stock Exchange yesterday revealed notable liquidity momentum, coinciding with reviews by the FTSE Russell and Standard & Poor’s (S&P) indices. The closing auction alone attracted approximately 37 million dinars, pushing total session liquidity to 146.14 million dinars. The two reviews provided a clear boost to market activity in the final minutes of trading.
Trading patterns indicate that the Kuwait Stock Exchange has become more closely linked to global index movements. Funds and investment portfolios tracking these indices are awaiting the outcomes of periodic reviews and the subsequent rebalancing of positions and investment weights, which directly impacts liquidity volumes and stock movements during review sessions.
The significance of the S&P and FTSE Russell reviews lies in their focus on stocks included in global indices, making review sessions a critical moment for the flow of investment funds tied to these benchmarks.
This impact was evident in the closing auction, which alone attracted around 37 million dinars, raising total daily liquidity to 146.14 million dinars, compared with 108.9 million dinars before the auction liquidity entered. The First Market captured the largest share of trading, accounting for approximately 89.4 million dinars of total session liquidity, compared with 56.7 million dinars for the Main Market.
The First Market comprises leading stocks that attract greater attention from global indices. Consequently, the surge in liquidity in this market during a session featuring two international reviews underscores the importance of these stocks in the flow of funds linked to global investment indices.
At the stock level, Kuwait Finance House topped the list of most-traded stocks, attracting approximately 14 million dinars. National Bank of Kuwait came in second with liquidity of 11.22 million dinars, followed by Al-Oula Takaful in third place with trading volume of 8.39 million dinars. Arzan ranked fourth with approximately 7.66 million dinars, while EFA placed fifth with liquidity of 7 million dinars.
The list of most-traded stocks shows that liquidity did not move in a single direction but was distributed across a group of stocks that exhibited notable activity during the session, with major banks leading the list of most-traded stocks.
Market indices closed at their levels recorded at the end of the session. The First Market Index closed at 9,244.45 points, with a market capitalization of approximately 43.774 billion dinars. The Main Market Index closed at 9,530.09 points, with a market capitalization of 9.6 billion dinars. Meanwhile, the General Market Index ended trading at 8,913.16 points, with a total market capitalization of approximately 53.38 billion dinars.
The activity observed in yesterday’s session was not isolated from liquidity trends over the week. Liquidity traded on the Kuwait Stock Exchange rose by 49.47 million dinars during the week, reaching 665.87 million dinars, compared with 616.47 million dinars in the previous week.
The Main Market recorded an increase in weekly liquidity, capturing 330.09 million dinars, compared with 309.3 million dinars in the previous week, an increase of 20.7 million dinars.
Liquidity in the First Market also rose to 335.78 million dinars during the week, compared with 307.102 million dinars in the previous week, an increase of 28.68 million dinars.
Weekly liquidity movements reveal that the momentum was not confined to leading stocks alone, as the Main Market also saw increased trading, while the First Market recorded a larger increase in weekly liquidity. This activity provides a clearer picture of the nature of the activity currently seen on the Kuwait Stock Exchange, as the market is no longer moving in isolation from developments in global investment indices, particularly given the presence of stocks included in indices tracked by international funds and portfolios.
