Kuwait equities outperform GCC and global markets, says report
KUWAIT CITY, 12 hours, 37 minutes ago
Kuwait equities outperformed global and GCC markets driven by the anticipation of strong earnings of banking stocks and the increased deal activity in the energy and real estate sectors, with most sectors closing the month in positive territory, according to Kuwait Financial Centre (Markaz).
Kuwait’s All Share Index posted a monthly gain of 5.7%, outperforming other GCC equity indices. This was supported by the movement in key sectors like oil & gas, real estate, consumer discretionary and banking sectors which gained 11.7%, 11.1%, 7.6% and 7.3% respectively last month, stated Markaz in its Monthly Market Review for January 2025.
Among the real estate stocks, Commercial Real Estate Co and Kuwait Real Estate Company were the biggest gainers, with a monthly return of 33.1% and 28.9% respectively.
During the month, Kuwait Real Estate Company launched ‘Tilal Al Tai’ project in Sharjah with a value of AED3.5 billion ($1 billion).
The company also obtained approval from the Capital Market Authority (CMA) to deal in treasury shares. Commercial real estate company got qualified to enter the tender regarding the Mubarakiya Market Development project and received approval to develop the Salmiya Boulevard Park.
Kuwait Oil Company’s discovery of hydrocarbon resources at the Al Jlaiaa offshore field has been a notable progress in Kuwait’s energy industry.
According to Markaz, Kuwait is also planning to consolidate its oil companies in the beginning of 2025-26 fiscal year as a part of its restructuring program.
Among banking stocks, Warba Bank and Burgan Bank were the biggest gainers, with a monthly return of 22.9% and 17.6% respectively.
Warba Bank acquired a 32.75% stake in Gulf Bank that was previously held by Al Ghanim trading company while Burgan Bank is set to wholly acquire United Gulf Bank by the first quarter of 2025, stated Markaz in its report.
As a result, Gulf Bank and Boubyan Bank have mutually agreed to call off their potential merger. Kuwait’s Main Market Index increased by 5.1% during January 2025, while the premier market index recorded a return of 5.9%.
Kuwait’s inflation accelerated to 2.5% y/y in December 2024, compared to 2.36% y/y in November 2024. The uptick can be attributed to the cost increase in miscellaneous goods & services, clothing & footwear and food & beverage industry.
The S&P GCC Composite index rose by 3% in January with all major GCC markets ending positively. Saudi equity index gained 3.1% during the month.
Saudi Telecom Company and Etihad Etisalat Company were the top gainers among Saudi blue chips, with gains of 8.7% and 8.4% respectively during January 2025.
On the other hand, Saudi Aramco dipped by 0.9% during the month, due to the delay in phasing out Opec+ cuts, said Markaz in its report.
Abu Dhabi’s equity index gained 1.8% in January 2025, supported by the strong performance of the banking sector stocks. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank gained 14.9% during January 2025 supported by a 26% increase in net profits for 2024.
Qatar and Dubai indices gained 0.9% and 0.4%, respectively, during the month.
Bahrain’s index fell by 5.4% during the month due to the decline of Aluminum Bahrain (Alba)’s stock by 18.5%, after officially terminating the proposed deal with Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma’aden).
According to Markaz, GCC is undergoing a major fiscal transformation through the implementation of new tax regimes.
On the Global markets scenario, it remained positive during January. MSCI World and S&P 500 indices gained 3.5% and 2.7% respectively. Microsoft shares rose by 4.1%, while Apple declined by 5.09%.
Deepseek, China’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) model, had created turbulence in the US stock market by triggering more volatility among the technology stocks.
NVIDIA’s core business revolving around advanced AI models felt the shockwaves caused by Deepseek, which led to a 10.58% dip in its shares last month. The emergence of Deepseek acts as a threat to the U.S. dominance in generative AI-TradeArabia News Service
