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An Iridium Advisors report placed net foreign inflows into GCC equities at $406 million for April 2026. Saudi Arabia drove the turnaround with $953 million in net purchases according to the analysis. That figure more than offset outflows of $383 million from the UAE, $94 million from Qatar and $54 million from Kuwait, the data showed.
The April rebound followed significant outflows in March triggered by the U.S.-Iran conflict, Iridium Advisors reported. The improvement pointed to initial stabilization even as inflows stayed concentrated in the largest GCC market. Such geographic focus underscores how quickly sentiment can shift across the six-nation bloc when geopolitical risks intensify.
MSCI indices for the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait each rose month on month, signaling broader sentiment gains beyond the headline flows. The Iridium Advisors assessment described these moves as early evidence that investor confidence had begun to recover from the March shock. Still the report stressed that stabilization remained tentative and subject to further developments.
Foreign investors bought a net $1.47 billion of GCC equities in the first quarter of 2026, a Kamco Invest quarterly trading report found. Saudi Arabia accounted for $2.6 billion of net buying in that period while the UAE and Kuwait registered outflows, the Kuwait-based firm detailed. Those three-month figures illustrate Saudi Arabia’s consistent pull for international capital this year amid ongoing economic reforms.
Saudi Arabia eliminated its Qualified Foreign Investor regime and opened the Tadawul to all foreign participants on Feb. 1, the Saudi Exchange stated in its first-quarter 2026 bulletin. The regulatory change formed part of Vision 2030 efforts to boost liquidity and widen the investor base, exchange officials noted. The timing of the reform aligned with the subsequent pickup in foreign purchases tracked for April.
Iridium Advisors warned that foreign flows are likely to stay volatile and highly sensitive to developments involving the Strait of Hormuz, isolated military activity or progress toward any peace agreement. The advisory group added that the next phase of normalization could arrive with little warning and might differ markedly across markets, sectors and individual companies. Public companies therefore should not delay strategic actions while awaiting a full recovery, the report concluded.
The equity portfolio flows captured in the Iridium Advisors data complement longer-term foreign direct investment trends that saw the GCC maintain positive momentum through 2025, according to an EY survey of regional capital attraction. IMF projections anticipate average non-oil growth across the bloc will help drive overall GDP expansion of 4.1 percent in 2026. Such underlying fundamentals could support sustained foreign interest once near-term geopolitical uncertainties ease.
