The Kuwait Stock Exchange experienced a volatile trading session on Wednesday, ending with mixed results as the market’s dynamics continued to shift.
The General and Premier Market indices showed a slight recovery following declines in the session before yesterday, while the main market index fell marginally. Early trading saw selling pressure on many stocks, especially in the leading and banking sectors, but buying interest returned later in the session. Small and mid-cap stocks such as Nakheel, Argan, and Wataniya MB posted notable gains.
Trading liquidity dropped below 100 million dinars, totaling 90.8 million dinars, with the premier market accounting for 51 percent of the value and the main market the remaining 49 percent. Approximately 133 stocks were traded during the session, with 51 advancing, 67 declining, and 15 remaining unchanged.
Seven sector indices increased, led by healthcare, which rose by 4.33 percent, followed by utilities with a 1.39 percent gain. Conversely, six sectors declined, including technology, which fell by 5.02 percent, and insurance, down by 4.91 percent.
The General Market index added 9.10 points, or 0.11 percent, closing at 8,613 points. Trading volume reached 465.8 million shares across 29,438 transactions. The premier market index rose by 14.92 points, or 0.16 percent, to close at 9,295 points, with a turnover of 45.9 million dinars and 137.6 million shares traded in 8,936 transactions.
The Main Market index declined by 12.39 points, or 0.16 percent, ending at 7,586 points. It saw 328.1 million shares exchanged, valued at 44.9 million dinars, over 20,502 transactions.
Market capitalization increased by about 54.3 million dinars, reaching 51.47 billion dinars, compared to 51.42 billion dinars at Tuesday’s close.
In terms of value, Kuwait Finance House led trading with 8.9 million dinars, ending at 803 fils per share. Warba Bank followed with 6.1 million dinars at 287 fils, National Bank traded 4.6 million dinars at 1.041 dinars per share, Warba Capital saw 4.1 million dinars at 851 fils, and GFH completed the top five with 2.7 million dinars, closing at 112 fils.
Among the biggest gainers, Nakheel led with a 28.41 percent increase, trading about 3.8 million shares and closing at 339 fils. Argan followed with a 13.21 percent rise on 15.5 million shares at 120 fils, Wataniya MB gained 12.14 percent with 541,000 shares at 231 fils, Meydan advanced 7.15 percent on just 440 shares at 749 fils, and Muntazahat rose 5.11 percent, trading 206,600 shares at 144 fils.
On the losing side, Gulf T fell 12.99 percent with 7,579 shares, closing at 931 fils. Mawashi declined 10.29 percent with 8.9 million shares at 122 fils, Imtiyazat dropped 8.26 percent with 11,500 shares at 200 fils, Wthaq lost 6.5 percent on 3.3 million shares, closing at 115 fils, and Al Rabita fell 6.13 percent with 1.6 million shares, ending at 58.2 fils.
The session highlighted ongoing market fluctuations, with investors showing renewed interest in small and medium stocks despite pressures on larger sectors.
