Kuwait Stock Exchange liquidity drops 19.1% over nine months

Liquidity at the Kuwait Stock Exchange declined by 19.1% during the first nine months of 2026, coinciding with a 1.4% drop in its general index, according to a report issued by Al-Shal Consulting. The report clarified that total liquidity across the seven Gulf stock exchanges fell by 5%, decreasing from $466.8 billion during the corresponding period in 2025 to $443.4 billion in the first nine months of this year. It noted that the decline affected five Gulf exchanges, led by Bahrain, which saw liquidity drop by 72.6%, followed by Kuwait with a 19.1% decrease, then the Saudi market with an 11.8% decline, the Abu Dhabi market with a 5.4% drop, and the Qatar Stock Exchange with a 3.6% reduction. Conversely, the Muscat Stock Exchange recorded the highest increase in liquidity, rising by 302.1%, alongside its index gaining approximately 29%. Meanwhile, liquidity in the Dubai market increased by 20.7%, despite its index declining by 1.4%. The report highlighted divergent performance between liquidity and indices in some markets; for instance, while Qatar Stock Exchange liquidity fell by the smallest margin among declining markets, its index suffered the largest losses in the Gulf, at around 14.1%. Similarly, liquidity in the Abu Dhabi market decreased, while its index rose by 0.8%. The report concluded that liquidity movements and index performance aligned in five Gulf markets, while the two trends diverged in two markets.