'Shal': 15.6 Billion Dinars in Stock Market Liquidity in the First Nine Months

A specialized economic report published on Saturday stated that the liquidity volume of the Kuwait Stock Exchange during the first nine months of the current year, totaling 181 trading days, reached approximately 15.6 billion Kuwaiti dinars (around $47.8 billion).

The "Al-Shal Consultations" report indicated that the average daily trading value for the period stood at approximately 86.5 million dinars (around $265.5 million), representing a decline of about 19.1 percent compared to the average daily trading value for the same period in 2025, which was approximately 106.9 million dinars (around $328 million). It also marked a 19.7 percent decrease compared to the 2025 annual average of approximately 107.6 million dinars (around $330 million).

The report clarified that the stock exchange’s performance in September was mixed compared to August. While the average daily trading value increased, all market indices posted negative performance. The First Market index fell by approximately 1.3 percent, the Main index by 1.5 percent, the General index by 1.3 percent, and the Main 50 index saw a sharper decline of 7.1 percent.

The report noted that stock exchange liquidity was higher in September than in August, reaching approximately 2.448 billion dinars (around $7.515 billion), compared to 1.777 billion dinars (around $5.455 billion) in August, an increase of 37.7 percent.

It added that the average daily trading value for September reached approximately 111.3 million dinars (around $341.6 million), reflecting a 31.5 percent rise over the August average of approximately 84.6 million dinars (around $259.7 million).

The report emphasized that liquidity trends since the beginning of the year indicate that half of the listed companies accounted for only 8.1 percent of that liquidity. Among them, 50 companies captured just 3.3 percent, while two companies recorded no trading activity whatsoever.

Furthermore, 12 relatively small and liquid companies, representing approximately 3.8 percent of the total market capitalization of listed firms, received about 19.9 percent of the stock exchange’s liquidity. This means their share of liquidity was approximately 5.3 times their contribution to market capitalization.

The report stated, “This indicates that significant liquidity activity continues to exclude nearly half of the listed companies, while strongly favoring companies with minimal market capitalization.”

It pointed out that the First Market accounted for approximately 1.2 billion dinars (around $3.6 billion), or 51.1 percent of the stock exchange’s liquidity. Within this market, nearly half of its companies captured 76.6 percent of its liquidity, which amounted to 39.1 percent of the total stock exchange liquidity, while the other half received the remainder, or 23.4 percent of its liquidity.

The report added that the Main Market accounted for approximately 1.1 billion dinars (around $3.3 billion), or 48.9 percent of the stock exchange’s liquidity. Within this segment, 20 percent of its companies captured 72.1 percent of its liquidity, while the remaining 80 percent of its companies received only 27.9 percent of its liquidity, indicating a similarly high level of liquidity concentration.

It highlighted that the Main Market’s share of total stock exchange trading value during the first nine months of the current year amounted to approximately 36.1 percent.

The report concluded its analysis of the stock exchange’s performance 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. In 2025, the First Market’s share was 56.7 percent, leaving approximately 43.3 percent for the Main Market’s liquidity.