Two financial analysts: Balanced performance in Kuwait Stock Exchange transactions last August thanks to regional geopolitical calm
Kuwait City, August 1 (KUNA) – Two Kuwaiti financial analysts said on Tuesday that trading on the Kuwait Stock Exchange during August witnessed balanced performance, thanks to the calm in the region’s geopolitical situation and well-considered buy orders for leading stocks, which contributed to gains in the general indices of listed sectors.
In separate interviews with KUNA, the analysts predicted that trading activity would continue in September at the same positive pace, as the market had absorbed changes related to external factors. This points to an improvement in performance, especially given supportive incentives such as rising trader confidence and the positive impact of government project launches, which will benefit listed companies directly and indirectly.
Sulaiman Al-Waqian, a board member at Sawah Holding Company and a financial analyst, told KUNA that market activity in August was characterized by balanced investor behavior in terms of buy orders for leading stocks, while performance varied for some small and mid-cap stocks due to selectivity. This occurred amid a wave of calm in external influences related to the region’s geopolitical situation, which helped record collective gains for many traded stocks during the period.
Al-Waqian explained that the positive impact of companies’ financial results for the first half of the year extended to stock movement patterns in July and August, despite external pressures. He expects this same pace to continue through October, anticipating an increase in daily market liquidity ahead of the release of third-quarter financial results, particularly from the banking sector, which traditionally discloses its results first, followed by other major leading companies.
For his part, financial analyst Ibrahim Al-Filikaawi attributed the active trading performance in August to technical factors related to the overall performance of listed companies, as well as the calm in the region’s geopolitical and military situation. This calm generated greater confidence among most traders, especially smaller ones, whose trading activity shifted toward small and mid-cap stocks.
Al-Filikaawi predicted that trading on the Kuwait Stock Exchange in September would continue with clearer buy activity, with a likely exchange of roles between the Main Market Index and the First Market Index. This follows the implementation of the Morgan Stanley index review, which closed trading for August, a month that saw improved trading activity.
He added that the First Market Index is likely to target the 9,400 to 9,500 point range, while the General and Main Market Indices are expected to target the 9,100 and 9,500 point levels, respectively, provided that the calm regarding the region’s geopolitical situation continues.
The Kuwait Stock Exchange closed August with a broad-based rise in its indices, led by the Main Market Index, which recorded the best performance among indices after rising by 5.6 percent, adding approximately 493.91 points. The First Market Index rose by 0.79 percent, equivalent to 72.82 points, bringing the General Market Index to a gain of 1.6 percent, or 140.72 points.
The market capitalization of companies listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange rose at the end of August, recording gains of approximately 872 million Kuwaiti dinars (about 2.6 billion US dollars), representing a 1.6 percent increase to reach 53.2 billion dinars (approximately 163.3 billion US dollars), compared to 52.4 billion dinars (approximately 160.8 billion US dollars) at the end of July. (End) M.K.A. / K.D.A.
