"The Share": Institutions continue to dominate stock market trading

The weekly report stated that the Kuwait Clearing Company issued its report, “Trading Volume of the Official Market, for the period from 01/01/2026 to 30/06/2026,” clarifying that the institutional and corporate sector remained the largest participants in the market, with its share rising to 67.2% of the total value of shares sold, compared to 62% for the same period in 2025, and to 66.6% of the total value of shares purchased, compared to 64.2% for the same period last year. The report added that the sector sold shares worth 6.74 billion dinars, against purchases totaling 6.68 billion dinars, recording a net sale of 61.3 million dinars.

Individual Sector

The report noted that the individual sector came in as the second-largest contributor to market liquidity, despite a decline in its share. It accounted for 30.3% of the total value of shares purchased, compared to 33.9% for the same period in 2025, and 29.6% of the total value of shares sold, compared to 35.9%. The value of purchases by individual investors reached 3.03 billion dinars, while their sales amounted to 2.96 billion dinars, making them the only category to record a net purchase of 74.56 million dinars.

Portfolios and Funds

The report indicated that the client accounts sector (portfolios) ranked third, with its share rising to 2.6% of the total value of shares sold, compared to 1.6% for the same period in 2025, and to 2.6% of the total value of shares purchased, compared to 1.3%. It added that the sector sold shares worth 262.578 million dinars, against purchases totaling 261.527 million dinars, recording a net sale of 1.052 million dinars.

The report further stated that the investment funds sector ranked last in terms of contribution to market liquidity, accounting for 0.6% of the total value of shares sold, compared to 0.5% for the same period in 2025, and 0.5% of the total value of shares purchased, which was the same percentage recorded for the corresponding period last year. The sector’s sales amounted to 59.21 million dinars, against purchases worth 47 million dinars, recording a net sale of 12.2 million dinars.

Local Investor

The report clarified that one of the characteristics of the Kuwait Stock Exchange is its continued status as a local market, as Kuwaiti investors remained the largest participants, having purchased shares worth 8.27 billion dinars, accounting for 82.5% of the total value of shares purchased, compared to 84.1% for the same period in 2025. They sold shares worth 8.02 billion dinars, accounting for 79.9% of the total value of shares sold, compared to 87.5% for the same period last year, bringing their net trading to 253.75 million dinars, making them the only category by nationality to record a net purchase.

Other Nationalities

The report indicated that investors from other nationalities accounted for 18.3% of the total value of shares sold, worth 1.83 billion dinars, compared to 10.9% for the same period in 2025, while their purchases amounted to 1.62 billion dinars, representing 16.2% of the total value of shares purchased, compared to 14.4% for the same period last year, recording a net sale of 211.28 million dinars.

It added that investors from Gulf countries accounted for 1.8% of the total value of shares sold, worth 176.43 million dinars, compared to 1.6% for the same period in 2025, while their purchases amounted to 133.96 million dinars, representing 1.3% of the total value of shares purchased, compared to 1.5% for the same period last year, recording a net sale of 42.47 million dinars.

Active Trading Accounts Rise by 10.4%

The report noted that the relative distribution among nationalities changed compared to the same period last year, becoming 81.2% for Kuwaitis, 17.2% for traders from other nationalities, and 1.6% for traders from Gulf countries, compared to 85.8% for Kuwaitis, 12.7% for traders from other nationalities, and 1.5% for traders from the Cooperation Council countries.

It emphasized that the Kuwait Stock Exchange remained a local market, as the largest share remained with the local investor, while interest from investors outside the Gulf countries continued to exceed that of their counterparts within the GCC.

The report pointed out that the number of active trading accounts rose by 10.4% between the end of December 2025 and the end of June 2026, compared to a decline of 0.5% during the corresponding period last year. It added that the number of active trading accounts reached approximately 52,612 accounts at the end of June 2026, representing 11.1% of total accounts, compared to 50,811 accounts at the end of May 2026, representing 10.8% of total accounts, indicating a monthly increase of 3.5%.