The Kuwait Stock Exchange closed in negative territory today, extending its recent downturn as intensified selling pressure — particularly on main market stocks — drove key indices lower.
The session began with a slight uptick but quickly reversed course, with widespread sell-offs pushing the general index into the red within the first half-hour.
The general market index fell 0.27 percent to 8,779 points, though it managed to trim deeper losses recorded earlier in the day. Liquidity retreated sharply, dropping 14 percent to 74.7 million dinars compared with 86.9 million dinars on Monday. The First Market captured 64 percent of total liquidity, while the Main Market accounted for the remaining 36 percent, reports Al-Jarida daily.
The Main Market was the hardest hit, slipping 1.18 percent to 8,145 points — its most significant decline among the indices — amid turnover of 27 million dinars and 155.6 million shares traded. The First Market Index eased 0.08 percent to 9,370 points.
Market capitalization fell by 149.2 million dinars, ending the session at 52.30 billion dinars compared with 52.4 billion dinars the previous day.
Despite the overall downturn, several stocks bucked the trend. STC rose more than 3 percent, while Gulf Bank added nearly 2 percent. Smaller stocks such as Parks, Equipment, Asico and Al Manar also showed notable activity. Meanwhile, Marakez led the decliners with a sharp drop of 10.3 percent, followed by Gulf Insurance, Unicap, Hotels and Al Oula.
A total of 131 stocks were traded, of which 34 advanced, 86 declined and 11 remained unchanged. Sector performance reflected the broader sell-off, with nine sectors declining — led by insurance, down 3.41 percent, and financial services, down 1.27 percent — while four sectors posted gains, including consumer goods and utilities.
GFH topped the list of most actively traded stocks by value at 6.8 million dinars, closing at 180 fils. KFH followed with 4.8 million dinars in trades, ending at 795 fils, while National Bank recorded 4.6 million dinars in value, closing at 996 fils. Among the top gainers, Muntazahat led with a 5.69 percent rise, followed by Equipment, Asico, Al Manar and STC.
Market participation continued to expand, with active trading accounts rising 103.2 percent since the start of the year to 45,802 by the end of November, driven by higher liquidity and improved share performance earlier in the year.
Total accounts on the exchange increased to 463,521, while inactive accounts posted a marginal rise of 2.11 percent over the same period.
