Kuwait Stock Exchange sees KD 174 million surge from foreign investors

• In 2024, foreign investors focused on leading companies in the premier market segment, as well as medium and small-cap stocks listed in the main market of the Kuwait Stock Exchange.

Foreign investors are increasingly confident in Boursa Kuwait’s promising opportunities across all sectors. This confidence is reflected in the steady buying trend by foreign investors throughout the first ten months of 2024, as reported by Al Anba newspaper.

Official data issued by the Kuwait Clearing Company and published on the stock exchange website revealed that foreign investors’ net transactions on the Kuwait Stock Exchange amounted to net purchases of approximately KD 174 million. This marks a reversal from 2023, when foreign investors predominantly engaged in net sales totaling KD 13.2 million.

In 2024, foreign investors focused on shares of leading companies within the premier market segment, as well as medium and small-cap stocks listed in the main market.

Since the beginning of the year, the Kuwait Stock Exchange has experienced increased activity, driven by numerous positive factors, most notably structural reforms in the local economy—a priority for those managing the country’s economic portfolio.

30% jump in Kuwait Stock Exchange liquidity

The positive performance of the Kuwait Stock Exchange from the start of the year until the end of October was reflected in a 30% surge in liquidity, totaling KD 11.1 billion compared to KD 8.2 billion during the same period last year.

Foreign investors contributed significantly to this liquidity boost, largely through increased investments in bank and corporate shares, particularly in leading companies. Additionally, periodic reviews of global indices such as MSCI, FTSE Russell, and Standard & Poor’s played a role, injecting $1.04 billion into the market, as noted in a report published by Al-Anbaa newspaper last month.

The buying momentum of foreign investors is expected to continue in the coming period, especially as global indices undergo their fourth and final reviews for the year in November and December.

An analysis of foreign investors’ performance reveals that the net purchases were driven by institutional investment trends. Foreign institutions recorded net purchases of KD 180.5 million, while foreign individuals showed a net sale of KD 5.2 million, and investment funds also reported a net sale of KD 1.2 million.

The ongoing purchasing trend by foreign investors on the Kuwait Stock Exchange in the remaining two months of 2024 supports optimistic expectations for profit growth among companies and banks by the end of the fiscal year. This could lead to increased cash dividends, building on the KD 321 million distributed in the first half of the year.

Current results for the first nine months of 2024, announced progressively, indicate sustained growth, with local banks achieving estimated profits of KD 1.24 billion, reflecting a 4.6% increase compared to the same period last year.

In a related context, active trading accounts on the stock exchange jump 2.6% by the end of October, compared to the previous month, with the number of active accounts reaching 22.99,000 thousand, up from 22.41 thousand in September.

As of the end of October, active accounts represented 5.3% of the total accounts eligible to trade on the stock exchange, according to last month’s statistics, which reported a total of 430.308 thousand accounts. This leaves 94.7% of trading accounts inactive.

The current period is marked by a notable increase in active accounts on the Kuwait Stock Exchange, driven by the positive activity seen in market indices and various key factors. Chief among these is a surge in liquidity levels, spurred by the buying momentum in leading stocks, as well as medium and small-cap shares, which have been the primary drivers of the Kuwaiti stock market for several weeks.