KUWAIT CITY, Oct 23: Kuwait stocks scaled more ground on Sunday, extending the gains in previous session. The index rose 13.9 points in volatile trade helped by some of the mid and small caps even as blue chips closed mixed. The investors remained cautious as they await more earnings before taking up fresh positions. The benchmark wound up at 5,909.70 points pulling up from trough earlier in the day while the weighted index inched 0.03 points up to settle at 413.79. The volume tapered during the session after declining in the previous two days. 113.17 points changed hands - down 15.3 points from Thursday. Among major movers, Zain rose 10 fils after stagnating in the previous session and closed at KD 0.930 while Wataniya Telecom climbed 20 fils to wind up at KD 1.960. The stock had shed 80 fils during whole of September and is unchanged from start of the month.

Agility eased 5 fils reversing the gains in the previous session. It ended at KD 0.930 and saw a volume turnover of 1.18 million shares. The logistics major earlier in the month denied reports that it had won a military contract worth up to $700 million. Kuwait Gulf Links held the ground unchanged at KD 0.108.
Mabanee Co climbed 30 fils on back of 3.35 million shares to close at KD 0.900 after stagnating in the previous session and Combined Group Contracting Co rose 20 fils to KD 1.320.
The market opened positive and moved higher in early trade. The index retreated thereafter as selling dragged some of the counters lower and hit the day’s lowest of 5,882.7 points. It drifted sideways before pulling up and peaked at 5,909.9 points in the final minutes. The market eased slightly but managed to close with modest gains.
“Small-cap stocks with good fundamentals are now getting popular for short term and long-term investment,” Reuters quoted Fahad al-Sheraian, general manager at Union Securities Brokerage Company.

Gainer
Top gainer of the day, Kuwait National Cinema Co spiked 9.8 percent to KD 1.120 whereas Aref Energy Co climbed 9.434 percent to stand next. Future Communication Co Global slid over 8 percent, the steepest decliner of the day, while First Investment Co (ALOLA) topped the volume with 15.9 million shares.
Reflecting the day’s gain, the winners slightly outled the losers. 31 stocks advanced while 30 closed lower. Of the 100 counters active on Sunday, 38 closed flat. 2141 deals worth KD 19.13 million were transacted - up 13.3 percent in value over previous session.
National Bank of Kuwait dropped 20 fils after trading 1.99 million shares to end at KD 1.100 and Gulf Bank was down 10 fils at KD 0.540. The stock has added 20 fils so far during the month but has eased 30 fils year-to-date.

Commercial Bank jumped 30 fils to wind up at KDD 0.830.The lender has posted a 65 percent decline in its third-quarter net profit weighed by provisions against loan and investment portfolios. In the first nine-months of the year the lender registered a net profit of KD 8.3 million.
Al Ahli Bank fell 10 fils to KD 0.650 and Ahli United Bank followed suit to close at KD 0.850. Kuwait International Bank was flat at KD 0.270 after trading 1.58 million shares and Burgan Bank too did not budge from its earlier close of KD 0.460. The counter saw 1.66 million shares change hands.
Kuwait Finance House stagnated at KD 0.890 after trading lower earlier in the day Boubyan Bank was unchanged at KD 0.590.

The bank posted a net profit of KD 6.9 million in the nine-month period ending September 30, compared to a net profit of KD 4.5 million in the same period of last year.
Investment major KIPCO closed flat at KD 0.335 and International Financial Advisors too was unchanged at 43 million shares after trading 15.8 million shares. National Investment Co edged 2 fils higher to KD 0.196 whereas Kuwait Financial Centre (Markaz) flunked 2 fils to settle at KD 0.124. KAMCO dropped 20 fils to KD 0.255 while Al Safat Investment Co and Al Tamdeen Investment Co both did not move from their earlier closes.

Flat
First Investment Co gained 10 fils whereas Al Maal was flat at 57 fils. Bayan Investment ticked 1 fils lower and Global Investment House added 2.5 fils on back of 6.08 million shares. The stock has gained 6.5 fils so far during the month but has slid 15.5 fils year-to-date.
National Industries Group rose 5 fils to KD 0.270 with a volume turnover of over 7 million shares. The Kharafi Group conglomerate is in initial negotiations to sell its 20 parent stake in Mabanee Real Estate Co.
Kuwait Pipes fell 2 fils to KD 0.150 and Kuwait Cement Co was flat at KD 0.510. Gulf Cables too did not move in either direction whereas Contracting and Marine Services Co rose 10 fils.
The bourse had been mixed during last week. It closed higher in 2 of the 5 sessions and added 28.3 points week-on-week.

The index has gained 76.6 points from start of the month and is trading 15 percent lower year-to-date. KSE, with 213 listed companies, is the second largest bourse in the region.
In the bourse related news, International Finance Co announced has posted net loss of KD 4,609,831 and loss per share of 7.42 fils in the first six months of the year as against net loss of KD 3,654,802 and loss per share of 7.86 fils in the same period last year.
Aref Investment Group (AIG) announced that Developmental Projects Holding Company, fully owned by Kuwait Finance House has made an offer to acquire AIG’s 72 percent share in Aref Energy Company for a total value of KD 73,090,697.

Refrigeration Ind and Storage Co has posted a net loss of KD 1,825,879 and loss per share of 20.62 fils as compared to net profit of KD 339,396 earnings per share of 3.8 fils in the same period last year.
Meanwhile KSE’s Money Markets Authority has sent correspondences to the following companies requesting them to provide steps taken to resume trade on shares. The companies are: International Investor Company, Securities House Company, Industrial and Financial Inv Co, International Investment Group, Aref Investment Group, Investment Dar Company, Aayan Leasing and Investment Company, GulfInvest International Co, Kuwait Financing and Investment Co, International Leasing and Investment Co, Al Madar Finance and Investment Co, Noor Financial Investment, Al-Masar Leasing and Investment Co, Safat Global Holding, Mena Holding Co, Al-Abraj Holding Co, Villa Moda Life Style, Services and Network Holding Co.