KUWAIT CITY, Jan 19: Kuwait stocks inched lower on Wednesday reversing the marginal rise in the previous session. The index fell 2.5 points in slightly volatile trade weighed by Zain and some of the mid-caps. However banking sector heavyweights saw scaled more grounds..
The market wound up at 6915.5 points after scraping deeper losses earlier in the session while the weighted index inched 1.54 points higher. The volume turnover saw a strong rebound after hitting the month’s lowest level in the previous session. 141.23 million shares were transacted — a 23 percent surge from the day before.
Zain dropped 20 fils offsetting the gains on Tuesday. It wound up at KD 1.460 and saw a volume turnover of 0.49 million. The Kharafi Group, a major shareholder in Zain said last week that it has not been notified by Zain or Etisalat about extending the Jan 15 deadline to complete due diligence on the deal.
Agility eroded 5 fils to settle at KD 0.480 erasing an identical rise on Tuesday. The stock hit a multi-month low last week following the US prosecutors’ move to file a lawsuit against the logistics major. The counter saw 0.64 million shares change hands.

Wataniya Telecom held the ground unchanged at KD 1.860 whereas Kuwait Gulf Links climbed 4 fils. NAPESCO closed flat. Aref Energy Holding Co was up 4 fils whereas United Gulf Bank dropped 20 fils to settle at KD 0.335.
National Industries Group rose 5 fils to end at KD 0.360 and posted a volume turnover of 10.8 million shares. The stock had gained 1.47 percent during December and has added 45 fils during whole of 2010. Kuwait Pipes was stagnant at KD 0.255 whereas Gulf Cables dropped 20 fils to wind up at KD 1.940.
Kharafi Group unit, Kuwait Food Co (Americana) soared 60 fils to wind up at KD 1.640 and Combined Group Contracting Co added 20 fils with thin trade . Tamdeen Real Estate Co slipped 5 fils to KD 0.265 whereas Mabanee Co was unchanged at KD 0.790 after vacillating in narrow range. National Real Estate Co too did not budge from its previous close of KD 0.156.

National Bank of Kuwait climbed 20 fils after stagnating in the previous session and wound up at KD 1.480. The counter saw over 4 million shares change hands. Kuwait Finance House surged 40 fils to close at KD 1.260 with a volume of 0.64 million shares. The stock had dropped 1.69 percent during December and has added 100 fils since the start of the month.
The market opened on positive note and gained ground in early trade. The index peaked at 6918.2 points buoyed by buying in banking heavyweights but failed to hold on to the gains. It slipped below the red on profit booking in select counters and bottomed at 6903.1 points well past the mid-session. However an uptick at close helped pare the losses.
“The Zain issue is taking over the whole market - everyone is waiting on the deal and turnover is falling,” says a Kuwait trader who asked not to be identified. “People are patient because they believe the deal with Etisalat will be completed.” , he added

The top gainer of the day, First Dubai Real Estate Co climbed 6.9 percent to end at 38.5 fils while newly listed Zimah was up 6.6 percent. Safat Real Estate Co slid 18.5 percent while National Ranges Co (Mayadeen) topped the volume with 13.9 million shares changing hands.
The market spread was biased towards the losers. 32 stocks advanced while 40 closed lower. Of the 109 counter active on Wednesday — down 10.7 percent in value over previous session.
The sectoral indices closed mixed. Banking sector outshined with 1 percent rally while investment eased 0.3 percent. Insurance was down 0.8 percent and real estate eased 0.4 percent. Industrials inched 0.2 percent and services followed suit. Food sector added 0.5 percent whereas non-Kuwaiti was eroded 1.5 percent - the worst performer of the day.

The bourse had been weak so far during the week and has shed 20 points from Sunday’s opening level. It had eroded 47.9 points so far during the month after gaining 88 points during December. KSE, with 209 listed companies, is the second largest bourse in the region. In the banking sector, Ahli United Bank climbed 20 fils to settle at KD 0.770 whereas Al Ahli Bank closed flat at KD 0.700. Gulf Bank was Commercial Bank were not traded during the session. Burgan Bank held the ground steady at KD 0.540 after trading 1.87 million shares.
Kuwait International Bank eased 5 fils to KD 0.360 with a volume of 4.35 million shares. Fitch Ratings has affirmed the lender’s Long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at ‘A+’ with a Stable Outlook. Boubyan Bank was up 10 fils at KD 0.640.

Investment major KIPCO fell 5 fils to KD 0.460 and National Investment Co followed suit to wind up at KD 0.430. Global Investment House inched 1 fils higher to settle at KD 0.059 with a volume of 5.8 million shares. The company has met its first year repayment commitment stated in the Debt Rescheduling Agreement signed with 53 lending banks and has repaid a total of $178.3 million by December 2010.
International Financial Advisers added 3 fils on back of 11.44 million shares to close at KD 0.068. Kuwait Financial Centre Co fell 2 fils whereas Aref Investment Co gained 3 fils. Bayan Investment Co was unchanged at KD 0.053.
In the bourse related news, Al-Madar Finance and Investment Company has posted a losses of KD 11.2 million and 31.5 fils per share in the first nine months of 2010 as compared to KD 8.6 million and 24.3 fils per share in the same period last year. Shareholder equity equaled KD 27 million and assets value totaled KD 115.4 million. Liabilities reached KD 81.2 million.
Al-Safat Investment Co has incurred a net loss of KD 5,003,611 and loss per share of 6.48 fils for the nine months ended on September 30 as against a net loss of KD 6,747,994 and loss per share of 8.74 fils.

Noor Financial Investment Co has posted a net loss of KD 24,574,600 and loss per share of 32 fils as compared to net loss of KD 11,972,406 and loss per share of 16.07 fils.
Amar For Finance and Leasing Co has won the CBK nod to buy back or sell up to 10 percent of issued shares. Approval extends over 6 months commencing from expiry of current approval on Dec 14, 2010.
Meanwhile, Kuwait Stock Exchange has suspended the following companies for failing to publish the financial results in the stipulated time : Al Safat International Holding Company, Al Dar Investment Company, Villa Moda Lifestyle Company, International Investment Group, Network Holding Company, Securities House Company, Gulf International Investment Company, International Investment Company, Aayan Leasing and Investment Company, Al Dar National Real Estate Company, Al Abraj Holding Company, Educational Holding Group Company.