KUWAIT CITY, Jan 6: The Boursa Kuwait has made notable strides in 2024, attracting foreign investments totaling 222.4 million dinars (approximately $723 million). This surge in foreign investments is largely attributed to a rise in net purchases by foreign institutions and companies. Specifically, their net purchases amounted to around 227.8 million dinars, with purchases reaching 1.78 billion dinars while sales stood at 1.55 billion dinars. However, the data also reveals a dominant selling trend among foreign individual investors. Net sales by foreign individuals amounted to 4.9 million dinars. Their purchases totaled 364.6 million dinars, but sales surpassed this figure at 369.5 million dinars. Foreign investment funds also displayed a selling inclination, with net sales of approximately 473.2 thousand dinars after purchases of 7.5 million dinars, compared to sales of 8 million dinars. Turning to domestic transactions, Kuwaiti investors reported net sales of approximately 117.8 million dinars in 2024. This was driven by heavy selling pressure from Kuwaiti individuals, whose net sales totaled 5.36 billion dinars against 5.24 billion dinars in purchases.

Meanwhile, Kuwaiti institutions saw a slight difference in their transactions, with net sales amounting to 8 million dinars, as they purchased 6.9 billion dinars worth of shares while selling 6.908 billion dinars. Investment funds saw modest net purchases of around 3.8 million dinars. For Gulf investors, net sales reached 94.1 million dinars, driven primarily by Gulf institutions and companies whose net sales amounted to 95.7 million dinars. Interestingly, Gulf individual investors recorded net purchases of 2.4 thousand dinars, with purchases and sales totaling 85.7 million dinars each. The market value of shares on the Boursa Kuwait reached approximately 43.58 billion dinars at the close of 2024, marking an 8.24 percent increase from the previous year’s market value of 40.26 billion dinars. The institutions and companies dominated the transactions, accounting for more than half of the market’s activities, while investment funds recorded the lowest level of transactions.

On a daily basis, Boursa Kuwait’s general index surged by 53.8 points, or 0.7 percent, reaching 7,416 points. The main market index also saw an uptick of 84.6 points, or 1.2 percent, settling at 6,991 points. The premier market index gained 48.2 points, or 0.6 percent, bringing it to 7,887 points, while the Main 50 index rose by 110 points, or 1.6 percent, to 6,917 points. The session saw a total of 203.4 million shares traded across 11,935 transactions, with a total value of 46.2 million dinars (around $141 million). Among the various sectors, consumer goods led the gains with a 4.25 percent increase, while utilities and energy saw declines of 1.99 percent and 0.11 percent respectively. The healthcare and technology sectors remained stable. The trading day saw 77 stocks rise, led by Ammar with an 11.11 percent increase. Conversely, 39 stocks declined, with Al Eid leading the losses, falling by 6.18 percent. Thirteen stocks maintained stable prices. The Business City share led in volume activity with 27.29 million shares traded, while IFA shares topped liquidity, with a transaction value of 5.84 million dinars. Ammar, Gulf T, IFA Hotels and Cinema were among the highest gainers, while Al Eid, Tamdeen A, KFIC and Holding MK experienced the most significant declines. As the Boursa Kuwait continued to attract foreign investment and sees significant market activity, its performance throughout 2024 refl ected positive investor sentiment and sustained economic growth.

By Mahmoud Shendi
Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff