Kuwait Clearing Company report highlights local dominance in stock market activity

The Kuwait Clearing Company has released its detailed report titled “Trading Volume for the Official Market from January 1 to May 31, 2025,” which analyzes stock market activity by nationality and investor category.

Published on the Kuwait Stock Exchange website, the report confirms that the corporate sector remains the primary driver of trading volumes and continues to expand its influence in the market.

The corporate sector accounted for 65.0% of total share purchases (compared to 59.1% in the same period of 2024) and 62.8% of total share sales (up from 58.3%). This sector purchased shares worth KD 6.898 billion and sold shares worth KD 6.665 billion, resulting in a net buying position of approximately KD 232.998 million, reports Al-Jarida daily.

Ranking second in terms of liquidity contribution, individual investors witnessed a decline in activity. Their share of sold shares fell to 35.3% (from 37.5% in 2024), and purchases dropped to 33.4% (down from 36.7%). Individuals sold shares worth KD 3.750 billion and bought shares worth KD 3.549 billion, resulting in the largest net selling volume at KD 201.539 million.

Declining roles of portfolios and investment funds

• Client portfolios (managed accounts) contributed 1.4% of total sales (down from 3.5%) and 1.1% of purchases (down from 3.5%). They sold shares worth KD 146.447 million and bought shares worth KD 116.203 million, with a net sell-off of KD 30.244 million.
• Investment funds held 0.5% of both total sales and purchases (down from 0.7% each in 2024). Funds sold KD 57.795 million and bought KD 56.580 million, resulting in a net sale of KD 1.215 million.

Kuwaiti investors dominate market activity

The data reinforces the characterization of the Kuwait Stock Exchange as a local market, with Kuwaiti investors making up the majority of trading activity:

• Sales by Kuwaiti investors totaled KD 9.725 billion, comprising 87.3% of total sales (up from 82.8% in 2024).
• Purchases totaled KD 8.956 billion, or 84.3% of total buys (up from 81.8%).
• Their net selling reached KD 319.016 million.

Foreign Investors Increase Net Buying

• Non-Gulf foreign investors purchased KD 1.502 billion in shares (14.1% share, down from 16.3%) and sold KD 1.178 billion (11.1%, down from 14.7%), resulting in a net purchase of KD 324.021 million.
• Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) investors bought KD 160.849 million (1.5%, down from 1.9%) and sold KD 165.853 million (1.6%, down from 2.5%), recording a net sell-off of KD 5.004 million.
  Shift in market composition by nationality

The relative distribution of trading by nationality has shifted compared to the same period in 2024:

• Kuwaitis: 85.8% (up from 82.3%)
• Other nationalities: 12.6% (down from 15.5%)
• CC investors: 1.5% (down from 2.2%)

This trend reinforces the local nature of the Kuwaiti market, with foreign investors outside the GCC showing more interest than those within the GCC.

The number of active trading accounts dropped slightly by 0.1% between December 2024 and May 2025, a slower decline compared to the 0.6% drop during the same period a year earlier. As of May 2025, there were 22,522 active accounts, making up 5.2% of total accounts—an increase from 22,198 accounts in April 2025 (5.1%), reflecting a 1.5% monthly growth.