Kuwaiti stocks ended 2005 up with a healthy 78.8 per cent jump buoyed by strong oil prices that pushed liquidity to record high levels. During 2005, the market set record highs in the values of trading, turnover and capitalization as well as the number of Initial Public Offerings (IPOs).
The KSE Index has been rising steadily for more than five years but its pace picked up significantly after the 2003 ouster of Iraqi president Saddam Hussein. It ended 2003 a staggering 101.7% higher, before slowing down last year to finish up 33.8%.
