Artistic and Geopolitical Factors Behind the Divergence in Kuwait Stock Exchange Transactions Last Week
Kuwait City, Sept 5 (KUNA) -- The Kuwait Stock Exchange concluded last week’s trading with mixed results across its main indices, driven by technical factors such as accumulation, profit-taking, and position swapping, alongside developments stemming from the region’s geopolitical situation. These factors heightened caution and deliberation among traders when placing buy or sell orders, as they sought to interpret the latest developments.
The declines in many global financial markets, particularly during the mid-week session due to these successive geopolitical developments, spilled over into Gulf markets, including the Kuwaiti market, affecting the Wednesday and Thursday sessions. This contributed to speculation on certain stocks, as reflected in trading values and volumes.
Despite the pressure on many traded stocks, the week saw the periodic review of the Kuwait Stock Exchange by Morgan Stanley indices, which paved the way for new investment positions in the main market. This boosted traders’ appetite, enhanced circulating liquidity, increased trading volumes and the number of transactions, and strengthened traders’ confidence in the market.
Regarding trading activity for the general market index during the week ended, Future Capital, Awal Takaful, Hotels, Rasias, and Shuwaikh were the top gainers, while Gulf Bank, Sahel, Cinema, Al-Takhsis, and Warehouses were the biggest decliners.
For his part, Al-Shal Consultancy reported on Saturday that August’s performance was positive compared to July’s, with an increase in the average daily trading value and positive performance across all market indices. The First Market index rose by approximately 0.8 percent, the Main Market index by 5.7 percent, and the General Market (a composite of both markets) by 1.6 percent. The Main 50 index also rose by 9.3 percent.
The report noted that stock exchange liquidity in August was higher than in July, reaching approximately 1.777 billion Kuwaiti dinars (about $5.455 billion), compared to 1.602 billion dinars (about $4.918 billion) in July, an increase of 10.9 percent.
It added that the average daily trading value for August reached approximately 84.6 million dinars (about $259.7 million), “which is significant,” representing a 16.2 percent increase over the July average of 72.8 million dinars (about $223.4 million).
The report indicated that total stock exchange liquidity in the first eight months of the current year (covering 159 working days) amounted to approximately 13.201 billion dinars (about $40.527 billion), bringing the average daily trading value for the period to 83 million dinars (about $254 million). This represents a 22.2 percent decline compared to the same period in 2025, when the average daily trading value was 106.7 million dinars (about $327.5 million).
It pointed out that liquidity trends since the beginning of the year indicate that half of the listed companies received only 7.4 percent of this liquidity, including 50 companies that accounted for just 3.1 percent, while two companies had no trading activity at all.
The report added, “As for relatively small and liquid companies, 12 companies, representing only 3.4 percent of the total market capitalization of listed firms, captured 19.3 percent of the stock exchange’s liquidity. This means their share of liquidity was 5.7 times their contribution to market value, indicating that significant liquidity activity continues to exclude about half of the listed companies, while strongly favoring companies with minimal market capitalization.”
It stated that the First Market received approximately 1.050 billion dinars (about $3.223 billion), or 59.1 percent of the stock exchange’s liquidity. Within this segment, about half of its companies accounted for 74.3 percent of its liquidity and 43.9 percent of the total stock exchange liquidity, while the other half received the remainder, or approximately 25.7 percent of its liquidity.
Furthermore, the Main Market received approximately 726.1 million dinars (about $2.2 billion), or 40.9 percent of the stock exchange’s liquidity. Within this segment, 20 percent of its companies accounted for 72.6 percent of its liquidity, while the remaining 80 percent captured only 27.4 percent, “indicating a high level of liquidity concentration.” The Main Market’s share of total stock exchange trading value during the first eight months of the current year amounted to approximately 33.77 percent.
The report concluded by comparing liquidity distribution between the First and Main Markets, noting a decline in the Main Market’s share of total liquidity for the year-to-date in 2026 compared to the same period in 2025, when the First Market’s share was 56.8 percent, leaving 43.2 percent for the Main Market’s liquidity. (End) M.K.A.
