Al-Shaal Report: Corporate sector remains the largest player in the stock exchange... and its share continues to rise

“Al-Shal” reported in his article on the Kuwait Clearing Company’s issuance of its report titled “Trading Volume for the Official Market for the Period from 01/01/2026 to 30/06/2026,” published on the Kuwait Stock Exchange website according to the nationality and category of traders.

In detail, the institutional and corporate sector remains the largest participant, with its share increasing. It accounted for 67.2% of the total value of shares sold (62.0% for the same period in 2025) and 66.6% of the total value of shares purchased (64.2% for the same period in 2025).

The second largest contributor to market liquidity is the individual sector, with its share declining. Individuals accounted for 30.3% of the total value of shares purchased (33.9% for the same period in 2025) and 29.6% of the total value of shares sold (35.9% for the same period in 2025). Individual investors purchased shares worth 3.039 billion dinars, while selling shares worth 2.965 billion, resulting in a net trading position of approximately 74.562 million in purchases.

The third largest contributor is the client accounts (portfolios) sector, with its share rising. It accounted for 2.6% of the total value of shares sold (1.6% for the same period in 2025) and 2.6% of the total value of shares purchased (1.3% for the same period in 2025). This sector sold shares worth 262.578 million, while purchasing shares worth 261.527 million, resulting in a net trading position of approximately 1.052 million in sales.

The last contributor to market liquidity is the investment funds sector. It accounted for 0.6% of the total value of shares sold (0.5% for the same period in 2025) and 0.5% of the total value of shares purchased (0.5% for the same period in 2025). This sector sold shares worth 59.210 million, while purchasing shares worth 47.006 million, resulting in a net trading position of approximately 12.204 million in sales.

A characteristic of the Kuwait Stock Exchange is its continued status as a local market. Kuwaiti investors were the largest participants, purchasing shares worth 8.274 billion dinars, thereby accounting for 82.5% of the total value of shares purchased (84.1% for the same period in 2025), while selling shares worth 8.020 billion, accounting for 79.9% of the total value of shares sold (87.5% for the same period in 2025), resulting in a net trading position of approximately 253.757 million in purchases.

The share of other investors in the total value of shares sold amounted to approximately 1.836 billion dinars, representing 18.3% of the total value of shares sold (10.9% for the same period in 2025), while the value of their purchased shares amounted to approximately 1.624 billion, representing 16.2% (14.4% for the same period in 2025), resulting in a net trading position of approximately 211.287 million in sales.

The share of investors from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in the total value of shares sold amounted to approximately 1.8% (1.6% for the same period in 2025), valued at 176.435 million, while the value of their purchased shares amounted to approximately 133.965 million, representing about 1.3% (1.5% for the same period in 2025), resulting in a net trading position of approximately 42.470 million in sales.

The relative distribution among nationalities has shifted compared to the previous period, with Kuwaitis now accounting for approximately 81.2 percent of traders, followed by 17.2 percent from other nationalities and 1.6 percent from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. This contrasts with the same period last year, when Kuwaitis represented about 85.8 percent, other nationalities 12.7 percent, and GCC countries 1.5 percent. Thus, the Kuwait Stock Exchange remains a local market, with the largest share held by domestic investors. Furthermore, interest from investors outside the GCC continues to exceed that of their counterparts within the GCC.

The number of active trading accounts rose by approximately 10.4 percent between the end of December 2025 and the end of June 2026, compared to a decline of 0.5 percent between the end of December 2024 and the end of June 2025. At the end of June 2026, the number of active trading accounts reached approximately 52,612, representing 11.1 percent of total accounts, up from approximately 50,811 accounts at the end of May 2026, which accounted for 10.8 percent of total accounts for that month—a growth of 3.5 percent.