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Foreign investors continued to pour into GCC equity markets in 2Q 2025, marking the sixth consecutive quarter of net inflows. Net foreign buying doubled to USD 4.2 bn on quarterly basis, bringing the total for the first half of the year to USD 7 bn, a nearly 40% y-o-y jump from the USD 5 bn logged in 1H 2024, according to Kamco Invest’s quarterly report (pdf).
The UAE and Saudi Arabia were the star performers in 2Q: Abu Dhabi and Riyadh were the most attractive destinations for foreign capital. Investors snapped up USD 1.4 bn in Saudi Arabia’s equities in 2Q, while net buying in the UAE reached USD 1.33 bn. Kuwait followed with USD 696.5 mn in inflows, while Dubai saw foreign investors scoop up USD 462 mn worth of shares.
Not everyone was in foreign buyers’ good books in 2Q: Foreign investors offloaded USD 29.6 mn in Omani equities — their second straight quarter of net selling in the market — and USD 27.9 mn in Bahraini stocks.
UAE equities were the most attractive to foreign isnvestors in 1H: Foreign investors were the biggest buyers of UAE equities in 1H, recording net purchases of USD 4.5 bn, followed by Saudi Arabia (USD 1.6 bn) and Kuwait (USD 1.4 bn). Foreigners were net sellers across Qatar, Oman, and Bahrain in 1H, collectively pulling USD 580.7 mn from those exchanges.
Momentum shifting in Saudi? Despite a healthy showing in 2Q, foreign buying in Saudi stocks fell 37% y-o-y in the first half to SAR 7.3 bn. The highest level of foreign purchase was last month, reaching SAR 3.64 bn. Retail investors recorded net buying of SAR 7.1 bn during 1H, down 35.5% y-o-y, with April being the peak month.
The outlook for the rest of the year is uncertain: Market-specific reforms, IPO pipelines, and macro sentiment will determine whether the region can extend its six-quarter streak of foreign inflows through the rest of the year, the report reads.
Trading volume is up, but value is down: Total trading volumes across the GCC rose 9.1% y-o-y in 2Q to 94.7 bn shares, thanks largely to a 39% jump in activity on the Qatar exchange and a 21% boost in Dubai. But value traded slipped to USD 151.8 bn in 2Q, down from USD 157.5 bn the previous quarter. Abu Dhabi was the only market to post a significant gain in value traded, rising to USD 22.5 bn from USD 20.3 bn in 1Q, allowing it to capture a 14.9% share of the total value traded during the period.
GCC investors were net sellers in 2Q: GCC nationals (excluding Bahrain) trimmed their holdings in regional equities in 2Q, with net outflows of USD 50.5 mn — a steep 89.5% drop from 1Q. Most of the selling came from Kuwait, Qatar and Oman, partially offset by net buying in Abu Dhabi (USD 48.4 mn), Dubai (USD 23 mn), and Saudi Arabia (USD 4 mn).
Saudi Arabia tops the list of most-traded stocks: Al Rajhi Bank, Aramco, and International Holding Company were the region’s most actively traded stocks by value in 2Q, together accounting for nearly 43% of the top 10. The full list includes Adnoc Gas, Emaar Properties, and Kuwait Finance House, with the top 10 representing 36.6% of all trading activity across the GCC.
