Stock Market Slumps Under Geopolitical Developments
The Kuwait Stock Exchange session witnessed selling pressure today, weighed down by geopolitical developments in the region amid military escalation between the United States and Iran, and subsequent attacks targeting Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, which negatively impacted market performance and pushed indices lower.
The exchange opened with modest gains, but selling pressure quickly took hold in several listed stocks, turning the indices into the red during the session.
Despite the downward trend, the market managed to trim some losses as the close approached, ending the general index with a slight decline amid mixed performance among listed stocks.
A number of stocks managed to achieve varying gains, with Rasiate leading the list of top gainers with a rise exceeding 7 percent, followed by Tharia and Al-Taksees, while other stocks experienced varying degrees of decline.
Trading liquidity fell by 24.7 percent to reach 63.9 million dinars, compared to approximately 84.9 million dinars in Monday’s session, amid continued caution driven by the current situation.
The First Market accounted for the largest share of this liquidity at 55 percent, while the Main Market captured the remaining 45 percent.
Around 130 stocks were traded, with 37 rising, 82 falling, and 11 remaining flat. Weighted indices declined in 10 sectors, led by Consumer Goods (-3.19 percent) and Insurance (-2.22 percent), while indices rose in three sectors: Technology (+1 percent), Energy (+0.41 percent), and Real Estate (+0.01 percent).
In detail, the General Market Index fell by approximately 20.68 points, or 0.24 percent, to close at 8,658 points, with 270.6 million shares traded across 19,324 deals.
The First Market Index also declined by 12.08 points, or 0.13 percent, to reach 9,078 points, with liquidity valued at 35.2 million dinars, trading volumes of 95.3 million shares, and 8,002 deals.
The Main Index dropped by 66.12 points, or 0.75 percent, closing at 8,795 points, with a traded value of 28.6 million dinars, 175.2 million shares traded, and 11,322 deals.
Regarding the most actively traded stocks by value, Watani ranked first with a value of 6.3 million dinars, closing at 803 fils, followed by Bank of Kuwait (Boubyan) with 4.1 million dinars at 774 fils, then Al-Taksees with 3.2 million dinars at 135 fils, Watania with 2.3 million dinars at 140 fils, and Tharia in fifth place with 2.3 million dinars at 210 fils.
Rasayat topped the list of the most-gained stocks, rising 7.41 percent on a turnover of 3.4 million shares, to close at 580 fils. It was followed by Tharia, up 3.96 percent on 10.7 million shares traded, then Al-Takhsis, up 3.85 percent on 24.2 million shares, and Nabisco, up 3.5 percent but with only one share traded, closing at 1.480 dinars. Fifth was Watania, up 2.94 percent on 16.9 million shares.
On the other side, Al-Madina Al-Amla (Business City) stock recorded an 8.42 percent decline, leading the list of the most-declined stocks, with 26.5 million shares traded, closing at 80.5 fils. It was followed by Gulf Insurance, down 4.85 percent but with only 70 shares traded, dropping to 1.176 dinars, then Ared, down 4.76 percent on 50,400 shares, closing at 1.800 dinars, and Awal Takaful, down 3.45 percent on 111,500 shares, falling to 224 fils. Fifth was Mizan, down 3.24 percent on approximately 351,800 shares, closing at 1.045 dinars.
