KUWAIT CITY, Sept 29: Kuwait stocks sagged Thursday weighed by Zain Saudi deal talks collapse. The index dropped 16 points led by Zain and select mid-caps even as some of the banks bucked the trend to close higher. The trading floor remains cautiously negative as investors await the third quarter results before taking up fresh positions. The bourse wound up at 5,833.10 points after trading sideways for most part of the day, while weighed index fell 1.2 points to 408.52 points. The volume turnover tapered further adding to the three-day decline. 132.11 million shares changed hands, down 6.4 percent from the previous session. The bourse has closed lower in six of the last seven sessions. Bourse heavyweight Zain retreated 30 fils after trading 3.22 million shares and wound up at KD 0.940. Burgan Well Drilling Co shed 20 fils to close at KD 0.325. Wataniya Telecom held the ground unchanged at KD 1.880 after posting steep loss on Tuesday.

Kuwait Cement Co was down 20 fils at KD 0.530 and Kuwait Pipes eased 8 fils to end at KD 0.144. Independent Petroleum Group Co slid 25 fils to KD 0.370 and Jazeera Airways eased 5 fils to KD 0.280. The stock has gained 42 fils so far during the month and is trading 156 fils higher year-to-date.
Agility climbed 5 fils on back of 1.3 million shares partly recouping the loss in the previous session and closed at KD 0.310. The stock was buoyed by the media reports earlier in the month that the company is leading an alliance to bid for $240 million stake in Kuwait Airways.
On the upside, Burgan Bank climbed 25 fils on back of 8.1 million shares and wound up at KD 0.500. Ahli United Bank added 10 fils to settle at KD 0.270 and Commercial Bank gained 20 fils after closing flat in the previous session.

Rose
Combined Group Contracting Co rose 40 fils to KD 1.400 and IFA Hotels and Resorts gained 20 fils. Advanced Technology jumped 50 fils to KD 0.640 with thin trading and United Gulf Bank ticked 2 fils higher.
The market opened weak and slipped below the red in early trade amid weak sentiments. The index drifted sideways thereafter as investors toed caution and hit the day’s lowest level of 5811.2 points. However it ticked slightly higher in the final minutes but closed with moderate loss.
Top gainer of the day, Advanced Technology Co spiked 8.4 percent while Manafae Investment Co was up 7.8 percent at KD 0.069 to stand next. Mayadeen slid over 9 percent - the steepest decliner of the day, while Coast topped the volume with 10.48 million shares.

Reflecting the day’s decline, the market spread was skewed towards the losers. 22 stocks advanced while 47 closed lower. Of the 98 counters active on Thursday, 28 closed flat. 2276 deals worth KD 18.91 million shares were transacted - down 32.7 percent in value from the day before.
In the banking sector National Bank of Kuwait was unchanged at KD 1.060 after giving up early gains. The lender last week denied media reports that it is trading in derivatives and thereby putting customers’ money at risk.
Al Ahli Bank too closed flat whereas Gulf Bank rose 10 fils adding to an identical rise in the previous session. The lender earlier in the month has won the approval of the Central Bank of Kuwait to buy back a maximum of 10% of its issued shares for a period of 6 months.
Kuwait International Bank eased 5 fils and Kuwait Finance House closed 10 fils lower at KD 0.900. Fitch Ratings earlier in the month affirmed the bank’s Long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at ‘A+’ with a Stable Outlook.

Eased
Investment major KIPCO fell 5 fils to KD 0.315 and National Investment Co eased 2 fils after trading 4.02 million shares. International Financial Advisors ticked 0.5 fils higher and Al Maal Investment Co followed suit to settle at KD 0.055.
Al Safat Investment Co stagnated at KD 0.082 while Global Investment House inched 0.5 fils lower. The investment banker is seeking to defer the principal repayments on debt due in December as part of renegotiating a $1.7 billion restructuring agreement.
The bourse trended lower during the week. It closed lower in four of the five sessions and slumped 83 points week-on-week. The index has gained 42 points since start of the month but is trading 16 percent lower year-to-date. KSE, with 213 listed companies, is the second largest bourse in the region.
In the bourse related news, Zain Iraq, a unit of Kuwait’s Zain said that it was moving forward in the process to be listed on the local bourse after it missed an Aug 31 deadline for offering its shares.
Al-Safat Investment Co has posted a net loss of KD 9,491,858 and loss per share of 12.30 fils in the first half of 2011 as against net loss of KD 1,052,962 and loss per share of 1.36 fils in the same period last year.

Burgan Well Drilling Co has clocked a net profit of KD 253,359 and earnings per share of 1.21 fils in the second quarter ending June 30. This compares with net profit of KD 145,125 and earnings per share of 0.69 fils in 2010 Q2.
Gulf Finance House has posted KD 193,670 net profit in the first half of 2011 while earnings per share chalked 1 fil. This compares with a net loss of 13,115,943 and loss per share of 29 fils in the same period.
Kuwait Stock Exchange has barred the following companies with from trading in the bourse for failing to pay annual subscription fee of 2011/2012:
International Leasing and Investment Co, National International Holding Co, Pearl of Kwt. Real Est Co, Investors Holding Group Co, Grand Real Estate Projects Co, Kuwait Business Town Real Estate Co, Refrigeration Ind. and Storage Company, Mena Holding Co, Villa Moda Life Style, Kuwait National Airways Co, Ras Al Khayma for White Cement, Al-Abraj Holding Co, International Investment Group and Network Holding Co.