KUWAIT CITY, Aug 1: Kuwait stocks started off the month on tame note as investors largely refrained from taking up new positions. KSE index edged 3.4 points up in lackluster trade after closing lower in the previous two sessions. The day’s marginal advance was led by Kuwait Finance House even as other blue chips remained muted. The sentiment was laced with caution even as investors await more results to propel the market.
The benchmark wound up at 6,658.3 points trading in a narrow range while the weighted index inched 0.98 points higher to settle at 420.22 points. The volume turnover slid 19.3 percent to 254.15 million after surging twice above the 500 mark during last week . The volume has been anemic for most part of the second quarter.
Notable gainer, Kuwait Finance House rallied 40 fils on back of 4.79 million after closing higher in the previous session. It ended at KD 1.080. Bourse heavyweight Zain held the ground unchanged at KD 1.200 after vacillating in a 20 fils range intra-day. The telecom major is eying investment in Mideast after selling a major part of its Africa assets to India’s Bharti Airtel earlier in the year.

Agility was up 5 fils at KD 0.440 with a volume turnover of 2.07 million shares. The stock had surged 38 percent during July but has shed 23 percent since the start of the year. Wataniya Telecom was not traded during the day while Kuwait Gulf Links added 8 fils to close at KD 0.178. Among other movers, Kuwait Portland Cement Co climbed 20 fils to end at KD 1.460 and National Industries Group rose 10 fils after eking modest gain on Thursday.
The market opened on positive note and rose gradually in early trade. The index held above the opening mark for almost an hour and peaked at 6,666.9 points before slipping into red on profit taking. It eroded further as selling pressure in select counters mounted and bottomed at 6,644.6 points past the mid-session. The market recovered again on bargain buying and clawed back from the losses in the final minutes to end in the positive territory.

The top gainer of the day, Investors Holding Group rallied 6 percent to end at KD 26.5 fils while Al Qurain Holding Co was up 5.7 percent to stand next. Flex Resorts and Real Estate Co dived 19.73 percent, the steepest decliner of the day, while Investors Holding Group also topped the volume with 69.36 million shares changing hands.
The market spread was skewed towards the gainers. 40 stocks advanced while 27 closed lower. Of the 103 counters active on Sunday, 36 closed flat. 3,969 deals worth KD 30.223 million were transacted — down 24 percent in value over previous session.

Mixed
The sectoral indices were mixed. Banking sector rose 0.3 percent while investment fell 0.2 percent. Insurance was stagnant and real estate followed suit. Industrials inched 0.1 percent higher while services edged 0.2 percent up. Top performer food sector added 0.4 percent whereas non-Kuwaiti dropped 0.3 percent, the biggest loser of the day.
Banking stocks swung in both directions during the session. National Bank of Kuwait dropped 20 fils to close at KD 1.200 erasing an identical rise on Thursday. The lender has posted a 10 percent rise in second-quarter net profit and a 15 percent year-on-year rise in the first half earnings. Gulf Bank rose 10 fils on back of 5.33 million shares while Commercial Bank was not traded during the day.
Al Ahli Bank was flat at KD 0.510 after trading in a narrow range while Ahli United Bank dropped 10 fils to settle at KD 0.530. Burgan Bank was stagnant at KD 0.345. The stock had climbed 9.52 percent in July and has added 1.47 percent year-to-date. Boubyan Bank too did not budge from it earlier close of KD 0.520 after trading 10 fils higher intra-day.

“The IMF in a study on Kuwaiti banks has said that, although the sector is heavily exposed to the real estate sector, they have sufficient financial resources to withstand a new crisis despite a sharp rise in their non-performing loans,” EFG Hermes stated in a recent note. It put the combined capital adequacy of Kuwaiti banks at 18 percent, which is significantly above the 12 percent required by the Central Bank.
The bourse has been buoyant during the past week. It closed higher in 3 of the 5 sessions and climbed 77 points week-on-week. The index had rallied 115 points in whole of June and is trading 3 percent lower year-to date.
Investment stocks were largely subdued and moved in narrow range. International Financial Advisors closed flat after trading 5.08 million shares whereas National Investment Co took in 5 fils to close at KD 0.350. KIPCO slipped 5 fils and Kuwait Financial Centre (Markaz) was flat KD 0.116 .

Aref Investment Group crept 2 fils higher to settle at KD 0.058 while Bayan Investment Co and Global Investment House were unchanged at KD 0.055 and KD 0.068 respectively. Al Deera Holding too was stagnant and Al Safat Investment rose 3 fils to close at KD 0.095.
In the real estate sector, National Real Estate Co was steady at KD 0.166 while Tamdeen Investment Co dropped 20 fils after trading 1.22 million shares. Mazaya Holding Co eased 4 fils.
In the bourse related news, Aqar Real Estate Investments Company has incurred a second quarter loss of KD 5,323 and loss per share of 0.02 fils compared to a loss of KD 44,317 and loss per share of 0.19 fils for the same period in 2009.
In the first half period it posted a net profit of KD 41,541 and earnings per share of 0.18 fils.
International Investment Group announced its annual results ending on 31/12/2009. The net loss stood at KD 36,613,067 while loss per share chalked 82.02 fils as compared to net loss last year of KD 21,488,623 and loss per share of 49.40 fils. The Board of Directors recommended no dividend payout for the fiscal year.

Meanwhile, Kuwait Stock Exchange announced the trading suspension of the shares of the following companies for failing to submit their financial results in stipulated time. They are: Al Safat Global Company Holding, Al Dar Investment Company, International Leasing Company, Villa Moda Lifestyle Company, International Investment Group, Pearl of Kuwait Real Estate Company, Al Shabaka Holding Co, Ayan Leasing Co, Al Ahlia Holding Company, Al Abraj Holding Company.
Tijara & Real Estate Investment Company announced its financial statements for the periods ended June 30. In the three-month period, net loss stood at KD 462,539 and loss per share chalked 1.22 fils . In the six-month period the net loss came in at KD 422,640 while loss per share clocked 1.12 fils .
Aviation Lease and Finance Company has posted a second quarter net profit of KD 2,743,402 and earnings per share clocked 3.69 fils compared to a net profit of KD 5,126,271 and EPS of 6.90 fils in the same period in 2009. In the nine-month period ending June 30, the net profit reached KD 7,757,839 and earnings per share stood at 10.45 fils.