Extending trading hours and overhauling the auction system at the Kuwait Stock Exchange to enhance market appeal.
Kuwait Stock Exchange Extends Trading Hours and Revamps Closing Auction Mechanism
The Kuwait Stock Exchange (Boursa Kuwait) has announced plans to extend its trading hours by half an hour and revamp the closing auction mechanism, aiming to boost market attractiveness and improve the investment environment.
The extension of trading hours will allow for greater market participation and flexibility for investors, offering them more time to execute trades efficiently and adapt to shifting market dynamics, especially during high-demand periods. This change is expected to increase market liquidity, improve price formation, and attract more local and international investors.
The update to the closing auction system, which determines the final price at market close, is intended to enhance price transparency and market efficiency. The revamped mechanism will offer greater flexibility in duration, the ability to amend orders during the period, and more transparent, volume-weighted pricing formulas.
These adjustments are part of a broader effort to improve the investment climate and market efficiency in Kuwait. They are expected to significantly increase liquidity in the Kuwaiti financial market, supporting the introduction of more sophisticated financial instruments such as derivatives, ETFs, and fixed-income products like bonds and sukuk.
The changes are also intended to promote transparency in the Kuwaiti financial market and align with regional markets like the Saudi Stock Exchange and the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange. This alignment is expected to facilitate comparisons, enhance cross-border investments, and help attract international financial institutions.
Extensive technical testing will be conducted involving the Kuwait Stock Exchange, the Kuwait Clearing Company, and local brokerage firms to ensure that the system upgrades can be implemented without compromising execution speed or operational efficiency.
These reforms complement recent operational improvements that have already contributed to significant growth in Boursa Kuwait's profitability, traded volume, and market capitalization in 2025. The CEO of Boursa Kuwait emphasized that these moves aim to elevate the investor experience and reinforce the regulatory framework to support sustained market development.
This would mark the first change in trading hours in nearly two decades for the Kuwait Stock Exchange. The initiatives are being pursued within the framework of Kuwait's Vision 2035, which emphasizes the development of the financial sector as a driver of national economic growth. The dual reform supports Kuwait's ambition of becoming a more dynamic financial hub, offering a more attractive platform for both local and foreign investors.
The extended trading hours will facilitate a larger involvement of the business and banking-and-insurance sectors, as more time is provided for executing finance-related trades efficiently. The revamped closing auction mechanism aims to strengthen the industry's transparency and efficiency by implementing transparent, volume-weighted pricing formulas.
