KUWAIT CITY Feb 3: Kuwait stocks  posted modest gains on Wednesday, helped by brisk buying in select counters. The index rose 16.3 points in choppy trade led by National Bank of Kuwait and Wataniya Telecom even as the other blue chips closed mixed.  Some of the mid-caps in the industrial sector too had a solid up day albeit with low volume turnover. The market mood is still laced by caution as investors await more results in the coming days. Earlier in the week, National Bank of Kuwait and Kuwait Finance House had posted their results.

The market winded up 0.2 percent higher at 7032.4 points after slipping into a shallow trough earlier in the session. The weighted index meanwhile eased 0.54 points to settle at 7032.4 points while the volume turnover swelled 19.5 percent to 489.25 million. The market liquidity had been  robust in past few weeks fuelled mostly by speculative trading and profit booking.

Sectorwise insurance topped gaining 1.2 percent while services was the  worst performer eroding 02 percent. Banking sector was flat and investment sector rose 1.4 percent. Industrials gained  0.9 percent. National Bank of Kuwait climbed 1.7 percent extending the modest rise in the previous session. The counter saw a volume turnover of 3.5 million shares. The lender  is planning to raise its capital by 10 percent through a rights issue by the end of the year to fund expansion. The bank aims to price the rights issue  at 500 fils per share including premium.

Wataniya Telecom  jumped 2.6 percent more than recouping the loss on Tuesday. It ended at KD 1.560. The scrip ended  flat in January  and is trading over 17 percent lower year-on-year. Zain dropped 20 fils  after trading 6.74 million shares. It winded up at KD 0.880. The company has announced that its CEO  Saad Al Barak is stepping down.
Agility sagged 20 fils  adding to the loss on Tuesday to close at KD 0.530. The counter saw a volume turnover of 4.1 million. National Industries Group added 10 fils to close at KD 0.310 on back of 4.44 million shares.
KSE  had been mixed so far in the week adding 7  points  from Sunday’s opening level. The index, which has been hovering around the 7000 mark since second week of December and had climbed 20  points in January.
The bourse, battered by spillover effect of  the credit crisis and a slew of adverse factors, had  eroded  8 percent  in 2009.

Gainers
Among other   gainers, Gulf Cables spiked 60 fils to close at KD 1.540 while Kuwait Foundry Co jumped 50 fils to close at KD 0.930 and Mena Holding Co took in 5 fils to settle at KD 0.285. Mabanee Co rose 10 fils to settle at KD 0.690.
Kuwait Food Co slid 60 fils to close at KD  1.360 while Burgan Well Drilling  CO and IFA (Hotels and Resorts)  added 20 fils each.   Kuwait Pipes was down 8 fils at KD  0.186  while ACICO Industries dropped 15 fils. In the bourse related news, Kuwait Finance and Investment Company has acquired the approval of  Central Bank of Kuwait to sell a 10% maximum of its issued shares over a six-month period starting from on January 21, 2010. KFIC is committed to abide by CBK’s rules and regulations.