KUWAIT CITY, July 22: The Boursa Kuwait opened this week with noticeable declines across its indices, reports Al-Jarida daily. The general market index fell by 0.42 percent, or 29.95 points, closing at 7,072.23 points. This drop was accompanied by a significant decline in liquidity, which hit a low for the year at 26.6 million dinars. The total trading activity saw 103.6 million shares exchanged through 6,943 transactions. Of the 123 shares traded, 35 saw gains, 65 experienced losses, and 23 remained unchanged.

The Premier Market Index experienced a drop of 0.49 percent, or 37.64 points, ending at 7,721.07 points, with liquidity totaling 19.2 million dinars. Trading volume in this sector included 57.8 million shares across 4,210 deals, with 34 shares traded -- 9 gaining and 22 losing, while 3 remained steady.

Similarly, the Main Market Index fell by 0.11 percent, or 6.36 points, closing at 5,913.07 points. Liquidity in this segment amounted to 7.4 million dinars, with 45.8 million shares traded through 2,733 transactions. Out of 89 traded shares, 26 gained, 43 lost, and 20 remained unchanged. The trading session started with moderate liquidity exceeding one million dinars, supported by shares of IFA, Kuwait Real Estate, Arzan, and IFA Hotels.

However, major stocks like KFH, NBK, Gulf Bank, and Boubyan exhibited limited declines. Agility, in particular, experienced a notable loss of over 1.7 percent, while Integrated and National Bank shares also saw declines, with the latter losing 2 percent. Limited gains were seen in speculative stocks like Al Khaleeji, Rasiyat, and Cables, with some speculative stocks like Unicap and Bayan also experiencing fluctuations. The trading session’s tepid performance was attributed to a broader geopolitical climate, particularly the escalating tensions between the Houthis and Israel. This unrest led to reduced investor activity on the KSE.

Additionally, global financial markets faced significant setbacks: oil prices fell by three dollars, gold declined by 2 percent -- its largest drop in six months during a single session – and Nasdaq recorded its biggest weekly loss in over a year at 4 percent. In the broader Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, four out of five market indices showed declines, including those in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Oman. Bahrain recorded a notable loss of about 1 percent, while Qatar experienced a marginal increase. Oil prices ended the week down by three dollars and 3 percent.