Kuwait Stock Exchange Suspends Trading On Court Order

Kuwait City, Kuwait (TML) - The Kuwaiti bourse halted trading Thursday morning following a court order aimed at preventing massive losses among small investors, the economic portal Arabian Business reported.

The order came after a group of Kuwaiti investors asked the court to temporarily close the stock market to protect small investors.

The bourse will close until October 17, when the court will reconvene to decide on further steps.

This is the first time in the history of the Kuwaiti market that such a move has been taken.

The court's ruling followed a lawsuit filed by a lawyer representing an investor, who claimed he had incurred heavy losses on the Kuwait market over the past few weeks, AFP reported.

The lawsuit was filed against Kuwait's prime minister and the country's commerce minister. According to the ruling, the court found that the bourse management failed to take any measures to boost the flagging market.

In the past three and a half months, the Kuwaiti stock exchange has lost more than 43 percent.