First Market Leads Stock Market Gains in July Despite Tensions

The Kuwait Stock Exchange concluded its July trading sessions with mixed performance across its indices. The First Market Index managed to post gains, which positively impacted the General Market Index, while the Main Market Index recorded losses due to selling pressure on several of its constituent stocks.

July witnessed numerous political and economic events and developments that cast a shadow over financial markets, foremost among them the continued tensions and military conflict between the United States and Iran, along with their repercussions on the region.

Conversely, the stock market received support from the commencement of financial results announcements by listed companies for the first half of the year. To date, most of these results have exceeded expectations, despite prior estimates suggesting they would be affected by geopolitical conditions.

Blue-chip and operational stocks regained their role in leading the market, as some saw notable buying activity supported by corporate results, which contributed to supporting the gains of this index. In contrast, many small and medium-sized listed companies on the Main Market faced selling pressure, which negatively impacted the index’s performance, closing the month in the red. The First Market Index rose by 1.46 percent, or 132.8 points, while the Main Market Index fell by 3.58 percent, equivalent to 324.8 points. Consequently, the General Market Index, which reflects the performance of both markets, closed with a gain of approximately 0.57 percent, or 50.35 points.

The market capitalization of the exchange recorded significant gains of approximately 255.3 million dinars, representing a 0.48 percent increase, to reach about 52.41 billion dinars, compared to 52.15 billion dinars at the end of June. Trading liquidity during June amounted to approximately 1.6 billion dinars, a decline of 24.8 percent compared to 2.1 billion dinars at the end of June.

On another note, during July trading sessions, the exchange closed with mixed index performance. The General Market Index rose, supported by gains in the First Market, while the Main Market Index closed lower.

Despite the continued anticipation resulting from rapid developments in the region, the stock exchange managed to narrow its losses and shift from the red to the green during the auction session, following buying activity on several leading stocks. This helped support the indices and resulted in a better closing performance. Trading value declined by 3.1 percent to reach 72.1 million dinars, compared to 74.5 million dinars in the Wednesday session. The First Market accounted for an absolute share of 76 percent of that liquidity, while the Main Market held the remaining 24 percent.

The session did not witness sharp price movements; the highest gain for any single stock was less than 3 percent, while the losses for the most declining stocks did not exceed 5 percent.

A total of 128 stocks were traded, with prices rising for 46 stocks, falling for 67 stocks, and remaining stable for 15 stocks. Weighted indices declined for eight sectors in the market, led by the telecommunications sector by 1.46 percent and consumer services by 0.94 percent. Meanwhile, indices rose for five sectors, led by the banking sector by 0.58 percent and the industrial sector by 0.55 percent.

In terms of index performance details, the General Market Index rose by approximately 14.97 points, or 0.17 percent, to reach 8,756 points, with 202.1 million shares traded across 14,520 transactions.

The Main Market Index lost approximately 27.43 points, or 0.31 percent, closing at 8,736 points, with a traded value of 17.5 million dinars and a trading volume of 94.5 million shares executed through 5,888 transactions.

As a result, the stock exchange’s market capitalization gained 89.1 million dinars during the session, reaching 52.41 billion dinars, an increase of 0.17 percent compared to 52.32 billion dinars at the close of Wednesday’s session.

In terms of most-traded stocks by value, Al-Watani topped the list with 14.8 million dinars in trading volume, closing at 858 fils. It was followed by Bitak with 9.2 million dinars, closing at 785 fils, then Watania International Holding with 3.5 million dinars, closing at 179 fils, and Zain with 3.4 million dinars, closing at 597 fils. Fifth was Ahli Bank with 3.2 million dinars, closing at 268 fils.

Kufpec led the list of most-gaining stocks, rising 2.84 percent on the trading of 396,400 shares, closing at 145 fils. It was followed by Tamdeen Real Estate by 2.49 percent, with a traded volume of 1,131 shares, closing at 412 fils, then Aabar by 2.17 percent, albeit with only 30 shares traded, closing at 188 fils, and Snam by 2.10 percent, with 5.7 million shares traded, closing at 340 fils. Fifth was Noor, up 1.92 percent on the trading of 2.1 million shares, closing at 424 fils.

On the other hand, Al-Kout recorded a decline of 4.88 percent, leading the list of most-declining stocks, with 1,000 shares traded, closing at 779 fils. It was followed by Al-Salehiya by 3.77 percent, with 3.2 million shares traded, dropping to 383 fils, then Al-Emiratiya by 3.57 percent, with 954,700 shares traded, closing at 135 fils, and Al-Takhsis by 3.47 percent, with 7.1 million shares traded, dropping to 139 fils. Fifth was Al-Mawar, down 3.38 percent, with approximately 78,800 shares traded, closing at 200 fils.