Geopolitical conditions revive an atmosphere of caution and anticipation for the stock exchange
The Kuwait Stock Exchange was affected during today’s session by negative developments in the region yesterday, stemming from military operations that contributed to heightened geopolitical tensions. This impacted investor sentiment, prompting traders to adopt a more cautious approach in their transactions.
The exchange concluded its Wednesday trading with mixed performance across its indices: both the First Market and General Market indices declined, while the Main Market index rose in isolation, amid clear divergence in the performance of listed stocks. Trading liquidity fell by 6.1 percent to reach 74.5 million dinars, down from 79.3 million dinars recorded during Tuesday’s session, signaling a slowdown in activity as a wait-and-see mood took hold.
The First Market accounted for the largest share of liquidity at 62 percent, while the Main Market captured the remaining 38 percent. Although many stocks posted positive gains, most of the increases occurred on limited trading volumes. Conversely, other stocks faced selling pressure, resulting in declines exceeding 6 percent.
A total of 132 stocks were traded; 41 rose, 72 fell, and 19 remained unchanged. Weighted indices for seven sectors in the market advanced, led by the Healthcare sector with a 3.25 percent gain and the Technology sector with a 2.18 percent increase. Meanwhile, indices for six sectors declined, headed by the Telecommunications sector, which fell by 0.90 percent, and the Industrial sector, which dropped by 0.56 percent.
In detail, the General Market Index fell by approximately 24.38 points, or 0.28 percent, to close at 8,741 points. It recorded trading volume of 257.9 million shares across 17,957 deals. The First Market Index declined by about 34.78 points, or 0.38 percent, closing at 9,190 points, with a traded value of 45.8 million dinars and a volume of 108.3 million shares executed through 9,481 transactions. Meanwhile, the Main Market Index rose by approximately 18.45 points, or 0.21 percent, to reach 8,763 points, with a liquidity value of 28.6 million dinars and a volume of 149.5 million shares traded via 8,476 deals.
The market capitalization loss for the exchange during today’s session amounted to 146.3 million dinars, bringing the total to 52.32 billion dinars, down from 52.47 billion dinars on Tuesday, representing a decrease of 0.27 percent.
Regarding the most actively traded stocks by value, Baitak ranked first with a value of 10 million dinars, closing at a price of 782 fils. It was followed by Al Watani with 8.2 million dinars, closing at 848 fils, then Evas with 4 million dinars, closing at 370 fils, International Holding Company with 3.1 million dinars, closing at 185 fils, and fifth was Watani with 2.5 million dinars, closing at 132 fils.
Al-Kout topped the list of the most rising stocks with a 9.64 percent gain, albeit on the trade of only 10 shares, closing at 819 fils. It was followed by Tamayoz by 7.46 percent, with a trading volume of just 120 shares, closing at 360 fils, then Meydan by 5.01 percent, trading only 127 shares, closing at 1.028 dinars, and Falmur by 4.55 percent, with a volume of 206,100 shares, closing at 207 fils. Fifth was Gulf Insurance with a 4.52 percent increase, trading 20,300 shares, closing at 1.202 dinars.
On the other hand, Aqar stock led the list of the most declining shares, falling 6.14 percent with a trading volume of 17.8 million shares, closing at 107 fils. It was followed by Tijara, which dropped 3.17 percent with a trading volume of 2.7 million shares, closing at 183 fils, then Watania, down 2.94 percent with a trading volume of 18.9 million shares, closing at 132 fils, and Kufic, which fell 2.76 percent with a trading volume of 372,500 shares, closing at 141 fils. Fifth was Ammar, declining 2.75 percent with a trading volume of approximately 1.1 million shares, closing at 106 fils.
