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Foreign investors poured $1.6 billion into the Saudi Exchange during the second quarter of this year, the highest net buying in the GCC, according to an analysis.
In its latest report, Kamco Invest revealed that the kingdom was the only market in the GCC to register net foreign buying during the second quarter, while all the other exchanges recorded net selling by foreign investors.
The report said the key factors affecting foreign investment flows in the region included geopolitical conflicts, disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz that affected oil price movements, global interest rate trends, and seasonal factors such as Eid holidays, which reduced market activity and trading volumes.
The steady performance of the Saudi Exchange comes as the kingdom continues to attract global capital, buoyed by strong corporate earnings and ongoing economic reforms. The government aims to attract $100bn in annual foreign direct investment by 2030.
“The quarterly data on trading activity on GCC exchanges showed all the exchanges recorded foreigners as net sellers during the second quarter of 2026, barring Saudi Arabia, which showed foreigners as net buyers to the tune of $1.6bn during the quarter, partially offsetting the overall net sales,” said Kamco Invest.
The report also said the monthly trading trend, excluding Bahrain due to the unavailability of data, showed that Saudi Arabia recorded consistent net foreign buying throughout all three months of the second quarter of 2026. In contrast, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman exchanges experienced consistent net selling across each of the three months during the quarter.
Foreign investors, including institutional and retail investors, turned net sellers across GCC stock markets in the second quarter of 2026, recording net sales of $298.3 million, following net purchases of $1.5bn in the first quarter, according to Kamco Invest.
Dubai witnessed the heaviest foreign selling in the second quarter at $641.5m, followed by Kuwait at $480.3m, Qatar at $375.4m, and Abu Dhabi at $187.3m.
In Oman, net selling stood at $161.3m, while Bahrain recorded $3.1m.
For the first half of 2026, foreign investors still recorded net buying of $1.2bn across the GCC, though this represented an 83.1pc year-on-year decline compared with the first half of 2025.
According to the report, aggregate trading volume across GCC stock markets declined by 21.7pc quarter-on-quarter to 64bn shares in the second quarter.
Kuwait was the only market to record higher trading volumes, rising 41.9pc quarter-on-quarter to 17.2bn shares.
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