KUWAIT CITY, April 24: Boursa Kuwait continued its positive streak for the fourth consecutive session, closing in the green midway through this week’s trading sessions, reports Al-Jarida daily. The general market index saw a modest increase of 0.04 percent, reaching 7074.70 points, with trading activity totaling 53.7 million dinars. Over 177.7 million shares were traded across 17,906 transactions, with 63 shares gaining, 43 losing, and 12 stabilizing.

In the First Market Index, there was a marginal gain of 0.09 points, closing at 7,719.77 points, and liquidity reached 44.1 million dinars. Trading saw 110.3 million shares exchanged through 12,304 transactions, with 17 gaining, 12 losing, and 4 remaining unchanged. Similarly, the main market index experienced a 0.23 percent increase, closing at 5,930.31 points, with liquidity at 9.5 million dinars. Out of 67.4 million shares traded, 46 gained, 31 lost, and 8 remained stable.

The trading session kicked off with positive earnings announcements, notably from the National Bank and Boubyan Bank, refl ecting growth trends. This prompted initial purchases, particularly in leading stocks like Agility, KFH, NBK, and Boubyan. Boubyan Petrochemicals saw notable gains, reaching its highest level in over six months. While most stocks experienced gains, Human Soft witnessed a decline, eventually dropping by more than 300 fils. Profit-taking operations were interspersed throughout the session, with NBK and Agility initially rising before later declining.

The session also saw increased activity in small-cap stocks, including Oula Takaful, Tahseelat, Al Nakheel, and Sanam. The positive sentiment extended beyond Kuwait, with all Gulf Cooperation Council countries closing in the green, albeit with limited gains. Despite oil prices remaining stable at $87 per barrel, gold prices experienced a decline, shedding approximately $100 from its peak of $2,400 per ounce. This was attributed to easing geopolitical tensions between Iran and Israel and the recalibration of economic expectations in the American economy, resulting in increased positivity across markets.