KUWAIT CITY, April 3: Kuwait stocks opened the month on a sour note after treading water in the last session. The index shed 24.5 points weighed by some of the mid-caps even as the heavyweights closed mixed. The trading floor sentiment was downbeat in absence of tangible cues. The bourse wound up at 6271.10 points paring steeper losses earlier in the day, while weighted index edged 0.31 points up to settle at 438.61. The volume turnover surged 32.5 percent to 153.94 million after receding close to the 100 million mark in the last session.
Among the notable decliners, Kuwait Finance House dropped 20 fils to KD 1.040 after stagnating on Thursday. The counter saw 1.25 million shares change hands. Gulf Bank eased 10 fils to wind up at KD 0.500 erasing the gains in the earlier session. The stock rose 2 percent during March and is trading 70 fils lower year-to-date.
National Bank of Kuwait bucked the trend to add 20 fils partly recouping the loss on Thursday. It closed at KD 1.160. The Moody’s had stated last month that that the lender’s asset quality will be under pressure because of its regional operations. Burgan Bank fell 10 fils to KD 0.465 after trading 2.1 million shares.

Zain climbed 20 fils on back of 20.24 million shares recovering an identical fall in the previous session. It ended at KD 1.340. Zain saw its net profit soar 445% to KD 1.063 bn in 2010 . The profit is inclusive of the capital gain of KD 770.3 million from the sale of Zain Africa to Bharati Telecom.
Wataniya Telecom too rose 20 fils after vacillating in a broad 80 fils range intra-day and ended at KD 1.780. Agility crept 5 fils higher to KD 0.380 recouping the drop on Thursday. The counter saw 1.45 million shares change hands.
The stock got a boost after the company said that a US court has overturned a charge against one of its subsidiaries.
National Investment Co was flat at KD 0.275 after fluctuating in a 10 fils range while KIPCO eased 5 fils to KD 0.350. The stock had shed 4.45 percent during March and is down 85 fils year-to-date. Kuwait Financial Centre fell 2 fils to KD 0.124 whereas Al Maal Investment Co added 5 fils.
The market opened weak and drifted narrowly lower as investors exited some of the positions amid weak sentiments. The index continued to erode till the final minutes and bottomed at 6251.4 points.
It clawed back in the final minutes and wound up with moderate loss.

Gainer
The top gainer of the day, Al Ahliea Holding Co spiked 16 percent to 14.5 fils while Credit Rating and Collection Co (Tahssilat) climbed 6.66 percent to stand next. Kout Food slid over 8 percent, the steepest decliner of the day, while Abyaar Real Estate topped the volume with 39.2 million shares.
Mirroring the day’s decline, the market spread was skewed towards the losers. 25 stocks advanced while 44 closed lower. Of the 94 stocks active on Sunday, 20 closed flat. 1992 deals worth KD 40.385 million were transacted - a 51.4 percent surge in value over previous session.
Bayan Investment Co inched 1 fils lower to KD 0.033 while Global Investment House was down 2 fils at KD 0.039. Global has registered fourth quarter net loss of KD 27 million - narrowing it from KD 148.8 million in the year before. The investment major has paid back $178.3 million in debt to banks in the 2010.
Al Deera Holding Co was flat at KD 0.034 and Tamdeen Investment Co followed suit to close at KD 0.182. The company has chalked a net profit KD 3,440,249 earnings per share 11.36 fils in the full year 2010 as against a net profit of last KD 2,266,116 and earnings per share of 7.31 in 2009. The Board of Directors recommended a dividend payout of cash.
Kuwait International Bank held the ground unchanged at KD 0.310 while Commercial Bank of Kuwait and Al Ahli Bank were not traded during the session. Boubyan Bank too was unchanged at KD 0.560. The lender’s earnings clocked KD 6.1 million in 2010 rebounding from a net loss of KD 51.7 million in the year before.

National Real Estate Co eased 7 fils to settle at KD 0.097 whereas Salhiya Real Estate Co rose 5 fils to KD 0.255. Tamdeen Real Estate was steady at KD 0.255 while Mabanee Co was up 10 fils at KD 0.690.
Mabanee has logged KD 18.6 million net profits in 2010, up from KD 15.3 million in the year before. The Board of Directors has decided to distribute a dividend of 10 percent of the profit.
National Industries Group was stagnant at KD 0.255 after trading 3.29 million shares and Kuwait Pipes too did not budge from its earlier close of KD 0.172. Gulf Cables and Kuwait Portland Cement dropped 20 each while Kuwait Foundry Co slid 30 fils.
Kuwait Gulf Links closed flat at KD 0.128 and Aref Energy Holding Co dropped 4 fils to KD 0.112. Safwan Trading and Contracting rose 20 fils to KD 0.670.
The stock was the best performer during March. IFA Hotels and Resorts dropped 20 fils while Combined Group Contracting Co dived 40 fils.

ALAFCO fell 5 fils to KD 0.335 while Jazeera Airways edged 4 fils higher to KD 0.122. Kout Food Group slid 35 fils.
The bourse had eked modest gains during last week. It closed higher in 4 of the 5 sessions and added 10 points week-on-week. It had slid 186 points during whole of March and is trading 10 percent lower year-to-date. KSE, with 215 listed companies, is the second largest bourse in the region.
In the bourse related news, Coast Investment and Development Co has logged a net profit of KD 5,799,505 and earnings per share of 10 fils in whole year 2010 rebounding from a net loss last year of KD 13,699,997 and loss per share of 24 fils
Kuwait China Investment Co has posted a net profit of KD 4,619,031 and earnings per share of 5.8 fils as against last year’s profit of KD 8,683,587 and earnings per share last year 10.9 fils. The Board of Directors recommended no dividends.

Combined Group Contracting Co has announced its results for its fiscal year 2010 ended 31/12/2010. The company posted a net profit of KD 8,893,965 and earnings per share of 101.52 fils as against net profit of KD 8,194,745 and earnings per share of 94.15 fils in the previous year. The Board of Directors recommended a cash dividend of 70 % and 10 % bonus shares.
Abyaar Real Estate Development Co incurred a net loss of KD 4,996,913 and loss per share of 4.77 fils in full year 2010 as against net loss of KD 29,247,558 and loss per share of 37.26 fils in the year before. The Board of Directors recommended no dividend payout for the fiscal Year.
Salhiya Real Estate Co has posted a net profit of KD 10,203,837 and earnings per share of 26 fils as against a net profit of KD 7,248,686 and earnings per share of 9 fils during last year. The Board of Directors has recommended a cash dividend payout of 20 percent.