Foreign investors remained net buyers on GCC stock markets during the first quarter of 2025 with net buying at $2.8 billion compared to $3.0 billion in net buying during Q4 2024. According to the latest report from Kamco Invest, the trend was positive at the start of the year, with consecutive buying seen in the first two months, followed by net selling during March 2025.
The biggest buying by foreign investors in GCC stock markets was seen in Abu Dhabi with a total of $2.3 billion, followed by the Boursa Kuwait at $705.6 million in Q1 2025. Dubai was next with net buying of $343.0 million by foreigners, followed by Saudi Arabia and Bahrain exchanges with net buy transactions of $252.3 million and $23.2 million, respectively. Meanwhile, the data for Qatar and Oman showed net selling of $421.0 million and $459.2 million in Q1 2025.
Boursa Kuwait reports 3 consecutive months of buying
Among all GCC stock markets, Boursa Kuwait was the only exchange to witness consecutive buying by foreign investors during the three months of the quarter. Conversely, Saudi Arabia and the UAE recorded net buying by foreign investors during the initial two months, which were succeeded by net sales in March 2025.
Recently, the Saudi Capital Market Authority (CMA) announced that foreigners can invest in Saudi-listed companies that own real estate in Makkah and Madinah. This move is aimed at attracting foreign capital and providing the necessary liquidity for current and future projects in Makkah and Madinah.
Similarly, Qatar witnessed net buy trades by foreign investors during January 2025, followed by net sell trades during the remaining two months. On the other hand, the Oman exchange witnessed net sales by foreign investors during the quarter.
The Muscat Stock Exchange has announced new investment initiatives that involve collaboration with other market exchange platforms, aimed at enhancing liquidity sources across various markets to encourage increased local and international investments.
U.S. tariffs impact investor confidence globally
Kamco Invest noted that some of the key factors that affected the flow of foreign money into the GCC stock markets included regional market trends, IPOs, geopolitical issues, economic health of the individual countries and crude oil prices. The quarterly trend in the equity market was skewed towards decliners as six out of seven exchanges reported declines during Q1-2025.
“The uncertainty related to U.S. trade policies and a forecasted slowdown in the U.S. economy affected investor sentiments in the region. The US government’s consecutive announcements related to the imposition of tariffs on U.S. imports and the countermeasures from its trading partners affected investor confidence in global economic growth,” added the report.
The seasonal selling pressure during the Eid Holidays also resulted in a decline in GCC stock markets. As a result, local investors were net sellers during the quarter and these shares were grabbed by foreign investors resulting in a broad-based net buy trades by the latter.
Foreign investor buying peaks in February
The report also revealed that the net buying value by foreign investors in GCC stock markets peaked in February, with aggregate monthly net buying at $2.4 billion. January registered net buying at $833.8 million, while March witnessed a decline with net selling at $518.4 million.
In the Saudi market, Saudi investors were net sellers on the Saudi stock market during Q1 2025 at SAR945.6 million compared to SAR4.2 billion in net selling during Q4 2024. However, Saudi institutions were net buyers of Saudi stocks to the tune of SAR102.8 million, which was more than offset by net sell trades by Saudi retail investors at SAR1.0 billion.
On the other hand, buying was mostly seen in trades by non-GCC foreigners that bought SAR2.4 billion in net buy trades during the quarter, which was partially offset by net sell trades by GCC investors at SAR1.5 billion.
Boursa Kuwait records biggest net buying by GCC investors
Meanwhile, trading by GCC investors, excluding Bahrain due to the unavailability of data, in GCC stock markets showed net selling during Q1 2025. Net sell trades by GCC investors reached $482.3 million, reflecting a decline from the $505.3 million in net sell trades recorded in Q4 2024.
Boursa Kuwait witnessed the biggest net buying by GCC investors during Q1 2025 at $56.9 million, followed by Dubai exchanges at $12.4 million. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Oman exchanges recorded net sales by GCC investors in Q1 2025, partially offsetting the overall buying by GCC investors.
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Top 10 GCC stocks by trading value
Five Saudi-listed stocks ranked among the top 10 most traded GCC stocks by trading value in Q1 2025. The aggregate traded value of the top 10 listed stocks in the GCC stood at $39.4 billion, accounting for 25 percent of the total value traded on the GCC exchanges during the quarter.
Al-Rajhi Bank topped the list, recording $6.3 billion in trades, followed by Oula Fuel Marketing Co. at $5.2 billion and Saudi Arabian Oil Co. (Aramco) at $4.4 billion. In addition to the Saudi stocks, the most actively traded stocks during the quarter included Adnoc Gas, IHC, Ahli Bank (ABOB), Emaar Properties Co, SNB, Nice One and Alinma.
