KUWAIT CITY, Oct 18: Kuwait stocks covered more ground on Monday after starting week on positive note. The index rose 11.8 points in volatile trade helped by last minute buying in select counters. The trading floor sentiment was lackluster in the early trading but turned cautiously upbeat in the later half. The investor are awaiting more earnings to trickle in even as the Zain stake sale seems to have taken a backseat. The bourse wound up at 7,045.8 points after sliding briefly below the 7,000 mark intra-day. The weighted index rose 1.32 points to 480.71 points while the volume turnover surged 31 percent to 346.68 million. The trading volume has shown a moderate uptick since the start of the month and has breached the 400 million level twice in the previous week.

Among the day’s prominent gainers, Agility rose 20 fils to KD 0.590 extending the strong gains on Sunday. The counter saw 2.6 million shares change hands. Wataniya Telecom too was up 20 fils at KD 1.920 whereas bourse heavyweight Zain held the ground unchanged at KD 1.420 after trading 6.6 million shares and vacillating in a broad range. The company’s income in the nine months to Sept. 30 came in at 976 million dinars,
Some of lenders led by National Bank of Kuwait posted modest gains. NBK rose 20 fils on back of 1.45 million shares to end at KD 1.420 after stagnating on Sunday. The lender kicked off the earning season last week announcing a 5.7 percent rise in third-quarter net profit. Ahli United Bank and Al Ahli Bank gained 30 fils each to end at KD 0.670 and KD 0.630 respectively.
Other advancers include Kuwait Portland Co and Kuwait Foundry Co which added 20 fils each to wind up at KD 1.540 and KD 0.780 respectively while Boubyan Petrochemicals Co was up 10 fils at KD 0.550. Aref Energy Holding Co climbed 8 fils with thin trading whereas Kuwait Gulf Links fell 4 fils to settle at KD 0.194.

National Industries Group eased 5 fils to KD 0.380 whereas National Investment Co was stagnant at KD 0.495 after the winning spree seen earlier in the month.
The Kharafi group owned company had said last week that it has garnered sufficient number of Zain shares to go ahead with the Etisalat deal.
The market opened weak and fell sharply into red in early trade as investors exited select positions. The index hit the day’s lowest level of 6,999.1 points almost an hour into the session amid heavy selling pressure. It moved sideways for some time before staging a strong rebound as buying picked up at lower levels in value shares. The market climbed past the opening mark in the final minutes and managed to close with modest gains.
“Most traders are waiting for third quarter results, which will be late in Kuwait,” Reuters quoted Naser al Nafisi, general manager for Al Joman Centre for Economic Consultancy. “However, investors still have a positive impression about the market.”
The top gainer of the day, Kuwait Medical Services Co spiked 10 percent to KD 0.110 while Abyaar Real Estate Co climbed 8.6 percent to stand next. Amwal International Investment Co slid 11.11 percent, the biggest loser of the day, while Abyar also topped the volume with 44.8 million shares changing hands.

Despite the day’s gain, the market spread was skewed towards the losers. 38 stocks advanced while 46 closed lower. Of the 119 counters active on Monday, 34 closed flat. 5140 deals worth KD 50.47 million were transacted — a 28 percent surge in value over previous session. KSE, with 208 listed companies, is the second largest bourse in the region.
The sectors closed mostly in the green. Banking sector rallied 1.2 percent, outshining its peers, whereas investment slipped 0.9 percent, the only decliner among the sectors. Insurance was up 0.3 percent and real estate edged 0.2 percent higher. Industrials rose 0.5 percent and services added 0.3 percent. Food sector was unchanged and non-Kuwaiti inched 0.1 percent up.

The bourse has been upbeat so far during the week and has added 39 points from Sunday’s opening level. It has climbed 45 points so far during the month and is trading 2 percent higher year-to date. The bourse had rallied 6.75 percent in the July-September quarter, the highest quarterly gain so far during the year.
In the banking sector Burgan Bank fell 5 fils to KD 0.490 whereas Commercial Bank rose 10 fils to wind up at KD 0.910. Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has affirmed its ‘BBB/A-2’ long and short-term counterparty credit ratings on Commercial Bank of Kuwait (CBK). The outlook is stable. Gulf Bank closed flat at KD 0.530 after fluctuating in a 20 fils range intra-day.
Kuwait International Bank edged 5 fils lower to KD 0.300 after trading 10.47 million shares whereas Kuwait Finance House plunged 40 fils erasing the modest rise in the previous session. The lender closed at KD 1.200 and posted a volume turnover of 5.02 million shares. Boubyan Bank added 10 fils to settle at KD 0.650.

International Financial Advisers eased 4 fils whereas Investment major KIPCO was flat at KD 0.490 Aref Investment Group and Bayan Investment Co fell 1 fils each and Global Investment House too followed suit to wind up at KD 0.056. The stock had gained 3.39 percent in September and has shed 43 fils so far during the month
In the bourse related news, Kuwait stock exchange has suspended the following companies from trading in the bourse for failing to submit the financial statements in the stipulated time: Safat Global Holding, Investment Dar Company, International Leasing and Investment Co, Villa Moda Life Stylle, Securities House Company, International Investment Group, Network Holding Co, Al-Ahleia Holding Company, Gulfinvest International Co, Aayan Leasing and Investment Company, Equipment Holding Co Pearl of Kwt Real Est Co, and Al-Abraj Holding Co. The companies which were barred for carrying forward losses exceeding 75 percent of capital are : Gulfinvest International Co, Equipment Holding Co, Network Holding Co.

Al Madar Finance and Investment Co. has incurred loss amounting to KD 3,721,396 and loss per share of 10.46 fils in the second quarter as against loss of KD 3,280,688 and loss per share of 9.22 fils in same period last year. In the first half of the year it posted a loss of KD 6,945,971 while loss per share chalked 19.53 fils.
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.
The Industrial and Financial Inv Co announced the financial results for the second quarter and the six months ending June 30, 2010. In the 2nd quarter loss amounted to KD 2,800,493 while loss per share clocked 6.89 fils against profit of KD 552,852 and earnings per share of 1.36 fils for same period in 2009. In the first half of 2010, the loss totaled KD 2,961,684 and loss per share worked out at 7.28 Fils.