Kuwait Bourse Closes Lower Under Pressure from 'First' Market... Liquidity Exceeds 100 Million Dinars

The Kuwait Stock Exchange concluded Tuesday’s trading with declines across most of its indices, amid selling pressure that was particularly concentrated on First Market shares and certain stocks that had posted strong gains in recent periods, while the Main Market managed to defy the trend and close with modest gains.

The General Market Index closed down 0.53%, equivalent to 46.75 points, at 8,797.63 points, while the First Market faced heavier pressure, losing 0.67%, or 61.61 points, to close at 9,178.52 points.

Conversely, the Main Market Index reversed its losses recorded during mid-session, ending trading up 0.13%, adding 11.62 points to reach 9,153.27 points, while the Main 50 Index fell 0.64% to 10,314.95 points.

The divergent paths between the First Market and the Main Market reveal that selling pressure was concentrated in a segment of leading stocks, alongside continued selective activity on several Main Market stocks, which partially limited the impact of the declines on the overall index.

The session witnessed active trading, with liquidity reaching approximately 100.16 million Kuwaiti dinars, through the trading of 309.81 million shares across 24,030 transactions.

The liquidity level is significant in interpreting today’s session, as the decline in indices did not coincide with a sharp drop in activity, but rather occurred amid portfolio rebalancing and liquidity rotation among stocks, alongside selling and profit-taking on leading stocks and others that had achieved strong gains in previous periods.

Market movements also came as the third quarter drew to a close, a period that typically sees investment positions being restructured by some portfolios and funds, along with buying and selling activities linked to financial period closures. At the same time, geopolitical developments remain a pressure factor on risk appetite, although stock performance during the session showed a clear divergence in investors’ responses to these factors.

Meanwhile, Al-Anzima continued its strong correction, falling 13.79% after having recorded notable gains in the previous period. Markaz came second among the biggest losers with a decline of 5.90%, followed by Hotels by 4.92%, Abar by 4.78%, and Kuwait Telecom by 4.09%.

Eva topped the list of most actively traded stocks by value, with liquidity reaching approximately 11.30 million dinars, up 1.27%, followed by Arzan with around 9.20 million dinars and a rise of 1.33%. Awal Takaful came third with liquidity of approximately 5.48 million dinars, down 2.30%, then Zain with around 4.72 million dinars and a decline of 1.82%, while Al-Watani attracted around 4.70 million dinars and fell 1.04%.