Kuwait: Kuwait Financial Centre “Markaz” released its Monthly Market Review report for February 2025, stating that Kuwait equities continued to be among the top performing markets in GCC supported by positive earnings, with all sectors ending the month in green. Kuwait’s All Share Index posted a monthly gain of 4.1%, the second highest monthly gains among GCC markets. Technology and healthcare were the top gainers, rising by 54.2% and 12.0% respectively. Key sectors such as basic materials, telecom, banks and real estate had gained 5.7%, 5.5%, 4.5% and 4.0% respectively in February 2025. Among banking stocks, Gulf Bank and Burgan Bank were the top gainers, with a monthly return of 11.7% and 9.2% respectively. Gulf Bank’s operating profit increased by 3.2% y/y in 2024, but its net profit had declined by 15.5% y/y due to an increase in total provisions and impairments. However, Warba Bank’s acquisition of a stake in the bank continued to drive prices up during the month. Among Premier market stocks, Ali Al-Ghanim Sons Automotive Company and Boursa Kuwait Securities Company were the top gainers, rising by 20.8% and 17.0% respectively for the month. Boursa Kuwait’s net profit rose by 15.8% y/y in 2024 to KD 18.1 million.
Kuwait’s cabinet has approved a draft budget for FY 2025-2026. The country expects a budget deficit of KD 6.31 billion (USD 20.4 billion) for the fiscal year, an increase of 11.9% from the KD 5.6 billion shortfall estimated for FY 2024-2025. Oil revenues have been estimated at KD 15.3 billion (USD 49.6 billion), declining by 5.6% compared to last year’s budget. The budget for FY 2025-26 is based on oil price assumption of USD 68 per barrel for the fiscal year, as against the current price of USD 73.2 per barrel. Kuwait’s consumer price inflation rate was at 2.5% y/y in January 2025, unchanged compared to previous month. Kuwait has updated its property law, allowing foreign entities licensed by the Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority (KDIPA), companies listed on the Kuwaiti stock exchange and licensed real estate funds and investment companies to own property in the country for their business operations or for employee housing.
The S&P GCC Composite index declined by 1.0% in February 2025 with mixed performance across GCC markets. Saudi equity index declined by 2.4% during the month weighed by performance of some blue chips. ACWA Power and Saudi Aramco had declined by 9.1% and 2.5% respectively for the month. Abu Dhabi’s equity index declined 0.2% in February 2025, amid mixed performance among blue chips. Dubai’s equity index gained 2.6% for the month. Emirates NBD gained 6.0% for the month. Emaar Properties gained 0.4% for the month, supported by 16% y/y increase in its net profit for 2024. The company’s property sales surged by 72% y/y in 2024. Qatar’s equity markets lost 2.1% for the month. Bahrain was the top gainer among GCC markets, gaining 4.3% for the month. The markets were supported by positive earnings reports from blue chips such as Aluminium Bahrain and National Bank of Bahrain.
Saudi Arabia’s fiscal deficit for 2024 was at SAR 115.63 billion (USD 30.83 billion), increasing by 43% y/y. Total spending had increased by 6.3% y/y due to higher current expenditure. Revenue had risen by 3.9% y/y, supported by a 9.8% y/y rise in non-oil revenue. Oil revenue growth for the year was flat at 0.3%. Dubai’s GDP rose by 3.1% y/y in 9M 2024. Fitch has opined that the outlook for GCC Corporates in 2025 remains stable supported by strong public-sector investments such as in transportation, urban planning and energy, as well as private-sector growth.
Global markets were negative during February 2025. MSCI World and S&P 500 indices declined by 0.8% and 1.4% respectively. Levy of tariffs by U.S. and weak economic data had driven markets lower during the month. The U.S. has levied 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada and has doubled the 10% tariff levied on Chinese imports. U.S. President also plans to impose tariff of about 25% on automobiles, pharmaceuticals, and lumber products. U.S. Fed Chair stated that the Fed was in no hurry to cut rates further given the strong labour market and elevated inflation levels during his meeting with the U.S. Senate. The MSCI EM index gained 0.4% during the month, supported by 2.1% gain in Chinese equities. Following DeepSeek’s success, investor interest in China’s AI-related stocks has supported Chinese equities.
U.S. inflation stood at 3.0% y/y in January 2025, its highest rise since June 2024 and a slight increase from the 2.9% y/y reading in December 2024. The rise in inflation was due to a broad-based rise in prices across segments. The U.S. labor market appears to be cooling down as the U.S. economy added 143,000 jobs in January, down from 307,000 in December 2024. U.S. job openings also fell to a three-month low of 76 million in December 2024.
The yield on the 10-year U.S. treasury notes closed at 4.24% at the end of February 2025, down by 34 bps compared to the end of January, on the back of softer than expected employment data and concerns over the impact of levy of tariffs on growth and inflation.
Oil (Brent) prices closed the month at USD 73.2 per barrel, down by 4.7% during the month. Concerns over trade war amid mutual levy of tariffs by U.S. and China, U.S. President’s pledge to boost oil production, weak economic data in major economies like U.S. and Germany had weighed on oil prices in February. Gold prices closed at USD 2,858.6, gaining 2.1% during the month, on the back of safe-haven demand amid concerns over the onset of a global trade war.
The outlook of global asset classes would continue to be shaped by Trump’s trade and economic policies and evolving expectations on further interest rate cuts. While largely positive earnings announcements from GCC Corporates are indicative of the sustained momentum in the broader non-oil economy, lingering weakness in oil prices could impact OPEC+ production cut decisions and in turn weigh on oil GDP of GCC economies.
About Kuwait Financial Centre “Markaz”
Established in 1974, Kuwait Financial Centre K.P.S.C “Markaz” is one of the leading asset management and investment banking institutions in the MENA region with total assets under management of over KD 1.41 billion (USD 4.57 billion) as of 31 December 2024. Markaz was listed on the Boursa Kuwait in 1997. Over the years, Markaz has pioneered innovation through the creation of new investment channels. These channels enjoy unique characteristics and helped Markaz widen investors’ horizons. Examples include Mumtaz (the first domestic mutual fund), MREF (the first real estate investment fund in Kuwait), Forsa Financial Fund (the first options market maker in the GCC since 2005), and the GCC Momentum Fund (the first passive fund of its kind in Kuwait and across GCC that follows the momentum methodology), all conceptualized, established, and managed by Markaz.
For further information, please contact:
Sondos Saad
Corporate Communications Department
Kuwait Financial Centre K.P.S.C. “Markaz”
Email: Ssaad@markaz.com
markaz.com