Foreign investors were net buyers in GCC stock markets during Q3-2024, with a total of $3.71 billion in net buying compared to $3.66 billion during Q2-2024. The trend of foreign investment remained positive throughout the year, with consecutive buying by foreign investors for the first nine months of 2024. The biggest buying was seen in Abu Dhabi, followed by Saudi Arabia, Boursa Kuwait, Dubai, Qatar, and Bahrain exchanges. Bahrain recorded the highest level of net buying in 21 quarters, while Oman showed marginal net buying at $0.3 million.
Some key factors that influenced foreign investment flows in the region included regional market trends, IPOs, geopolitical issues, economic health of individual countries, and crude oil prices. The quarter saw an uptrend in the equity market, with two out of seven exchanges reporting declines. The anticipated reduction in interest rates by the US Fed supported market performance in the region, leading to foreign investors being net buyers while local investors were net sellers.
In terms of month-on-month performance, foreign investors’ net buying peaked in September 2024 at $2.6 billion. Foreign investors bought the most stocks during Q1-2022, with net buy transactions of $11.0 billion, mainly in Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Meanwhile, trading by GCC investors in GCC exchanges showed net selling during Q3-2024, with Saudi Exchange witnessing the biggest net buying by GCC investors.
Aggregate trading activity increased by 19.8 percent quarter-on-quarter, with total GCC volume traded reaching 83.01 billion shares in Q3-2024. Kuwait recorded the highest gain in volume traded, followed by Saudi Arabia. The total value of shares traded also reported a gain, with Abu Dhabi showing the biggest increase in trading activity. Conversely, trading activity on the Qatar Exchange declined quarter-on-quarter.
Overall, foreign investors continued to be net buyers in GCC stock markets during Q3-2024, with the trend remaining positive throughout the year. Factors such as regional market trends, geopolitical issues, and economic health of individual countries influenced foreign investment flows in the region. The market saw an uptrend in equity with foreign investors being the net buyers while local investors were net sellers. Aggregate trading activity and value traded increased quarter-on-quarter, indicating a positive trend in GCC stock markets.
