KUWAIT CITY, 21 December 2003 — Kuwaiti stocks cruised past the 4,700-point psychological barrier on the week’s opening trading day yesterday on the back of news that some listed firms won UN reparations, traders said.
The Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) index ended on 4,701.10, a new all-time high, up 1.2 percent on last week’s closing of 4,643.10 points. The previous record of 4,665.9 points was set on Monday. The index is a massive 97.9 percent higher than its 2002 closing of 2,375.3 points, and the exchange maintained its position as the top gainer among all Arab bourses this year.
The market went beyond the new mark only once during trading on Monday in response to the capture of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
Kuwait also continued a series of economic reforms as Parliament on Tuesday gave its provisional approval for foreign banks to operate in Kuwait. All seven market sectors enjoyed gains, led by food and services companies. A number of listed firms reported winning millions of dollars in compensation from the United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC) for damages during the 1990-91 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.
Trading volume amounted to 66.1 million dinars ($220.3 million) compared to average daily trading during last week of 91.9 million dinars ($306.3 million).
The KSE is the second largest stock market in the Arab world in terms of capitalization ($59 billion) after Saudi Arabia’s bourse.
