KUWAIT CITY, Sept 8: Kuwait index trod water on Wednesday as stocks closed mixed after moving in a narrow range. The index edged 3.7 points higher in moderately volatile trade extending the gains to the fifth consecutive session. The day’s advance was paced by Zain and Kuwait Finance House while other heavyweights closed mixed. Some of the mid-caps in the industrial and service sectors sagged on profit taking.
The market wound up at 6757.10 points while the weighted index inched 0.57 points up to settle at 450.4 points. The volume slid further indicating the investors’ reluctance to take fresh positions owing to lack of strong fillips. A total of 107.29 million shares were transacted - down 17.9 percent from Tuesday and the lowest level so far in the month.
Zain rose 20 fils extending an identical rise in the previous session. It closed at KD 1.280 and posted a volume turnover of 4.005 million shares. Kuwait Finance House too was up 20 fils at KD 1.180 on back of 2.26 million shares. The stock had climbed 5.77 percent in August and has added 80 fils since the start of the year.
Agility edged 5 fils higher after stagnating in the day before. It ended at KD 0.465. The stock was buoyed earlier in the week after news US judge said prosecutors had failed to follow the correct procedures when they indicted the logistics firm on fraud charges. Wataniya Telecom however shed 20 fils to close at KD 1.820.
Among other gainers, Kuwait Gulf Links added 10 fils to wind up at KD 0.220 while Combined Group Contracting rose 20 fils to end at KD 1.680.National Industrial Company for Building Materials gained 15 fils whereas Advanced Technology slid 30 fils to settle at KD 0.720.
The market opened weak and slid sharply below the red in early trading as investors exited positions amid bearish sentiments. The index hit the day’s lowest mark of 6729.6 points and clawed back thereafter to peak at 6757.6 points almost half way into the session. It eased again and traded below the red till the final minutes. However a slight spurt in renewed buying helped push the market in the positive region.
The top gainer of the day, Abyaar Real Estate Co jumped 7.56 percent to close at 28.5 fils while Contracting and Marine Services Co climbed 6.17 percent to stand next. Safat Real Estate Co slid 5.8 percent, the biggest loser of the day, while Abyaar also topped the volume with 10.6 million shares changing hands.
Winners
Reflecting the day’s slight gains, the winners outnumbered the losers. 38 stocks advanced while 26 closed lower. Of the 100 counters active on Wednesday, 35 closed flat. 2440 deals worth KD 24.27 million were transacted — down almost half the half the value seen in the previous session.
The sectors closed mixed. Banking sector slipped 0.6 percent while investment was stagnant. Insurance too did not sway in either direction and real estate inched 0.1 percent higher. Industrial added 0.4 percent, the top performer of the day, while services was up 0.3 percent. Food sector shed 0.3 percent and non-Kuwaitis eroded 0.3 percent.
The bourse saw robust rise during the week. It closed higher in all four sessions rallying 50.5 points week-on-week. The index has climbed 68.7 points since the start of the month but is trading 2 percent lower year-to date. It had gained 33.7 points during whole of August. Kuwait Stock Exchange has announced that it will be closed starting Thursday Sept. 9 for the Eid al-Fitr Islamic holiday
In the banking sector, the bellwether National Bank of Kuwait dropped 20 fils after trading 1.13 million shares. The lender has announced calling up capital increase of 10 percent of paid up capital, after adding bonus shares distributed for fiscal year 2009. The capital increase will be commence on October 5, 2010 and run till October 21, 2010 and will be open for registered shareholders as of October 4, 2010.
Gulf Bank was stagnant at KD 0.520 after fluctuating in a 10 fils range while Commercial Bank was not traded during the session. Al Ahli Bank too did not budge from its earlier close of 0.550 whereas Ahli United Bank fell 10 fils to close at KD 0.520.
Kuwait International Bank fell 5 fils to close at KD 0.265 and Burgan Bank was down 10 fils at KD 0.460. The lender is planning a roadshow for a dollar-denominated bond issue soon, according to local newspaper. JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley and Standard Chartered are arranging the event. Boubyan Bank held the ground unchanged at KD 0.580.
“Banks made a good move in recent weeks, so it was time for profit taking, but this isn’t heavy when compared to their gains,” says Naser al-Nafisi, general manager for Al Joman Center for Economic Consultancy in Kuwait.
Muted
The investment stocks were largely muted. International Financial Advisors and National Investment Co closed flat whereas KIPCO eased 5 fils to end at KD 0.355. The investment major has posted a net profit of KD 9.6 million , or 8.53 fils per share, for the first six months of 2010 down from KD21.6m or 19.47 fils per share, for the same period last year. The second quarter profit was up 2 percent quarter-on-quarter at KD 4.8 million
Kuwait Financial Centre added 4 fils whereas Bayan Investment Co rose 3 fils to close at KD 0.056. Global Investment House did not move in either direction and closed at KD 0.060. In the real estate, National Real Estate Co slipped 5 fils while Al Enma inched 1 fils lower.
In the bourse related news, Al-Enmaa Real Estate Company has posted a profit of KD 99,862 and earnings per share of 0.22 fils in the second quarter as compared to a loss of KD 1,508,451 and loss per share 3.35 fils for the same period last year.
In the six-month period ending June 30, the company recorded a profit of KD 596,487 and earnings per share of 1.32 fils as compared to a loss of KD 503,542 and loss per share 1.12 fils in the first half of 2009.