KUWAIT CITY, Dec 18: Kuwait stocks pulled higher Sunday after drifting lower in the previous week. The index nudged 9.1 points higher in choppy trade led by select banks and some of the mid-caps even as investors kept a eye wary on the political developments. The index closed at 5,832.40 points after trading in red earlier in the session while weighted index rose 1.35 points 408.99. The volume slipped 22.6 percent to 120.83 million extending the decline from the previous session. It had hit a multi-month high of 257.71 million on Dec 7th and has hovered mostly below the 200 million mark so far during the month. National Bank of Kuwait climbed 20 fils recouping the fall in the earlier session. It ended at KD 1.140 after trading 0.62 million shares. Ahli United Bank rose 10 fils to KD 0.810 whereas Gulf Bank held the ground unchanged at KD 0.510 with thin volume.

Agility was flat at KD 0.385 and Wataniya Telecom followed suit to end at KD 1.960. The stock has gained 60 fils so far during the month and is trading higher by the same measure. Bourse heavyweight Zain stagnated at KD 0.900 with a volume of 1.14 million shares. The telecom service provider has posted a net profit of KD70 million in the third-quarter while revenue dropped to KD 329 million. Among other notable gainers, Combined Group Contracting Co soared 80 fils to KD 1.540 while Contracting and Marine Services Co was up 4 fils at KD 0.210. Independent Petroleum Group Co rose 5 fils with thin trading.

Shed
On the downside, Yiaco Medical Co shed 25 fils with a volume of 2.15 million shares and Jazeera Airways was down 15 fils. The company has posted a net profit of KD 6.1 million in third quarter, up 36 percent from last year. The market opened flat and moved higher in early trade. The index sagged thereafter and hit the day’s lowest of 5817.6 points before clawing back. It traded sideways in the second half amid skittish sentiments and managed to close in the green. Top gainer of the day, Mazaya Holding Co climbed 7.9 percent to 68 fils wwhile First Dubai was up 7.6 percent to stand next. Industrial and Financial Investment Co slid 6.9 percent, the biggest decliner of the day, while Abyaar topped the volume with 19.92 million shares. The market spread was skewed towards the winners. 38 stocks advanced while 43 closed lower. Of the 104 counters active on Sunday, 43 closed flat. 1906 deals worth KD 14.15 million shares were transacted - down 23 percent in value from the day before.

The market had shed 1.86 percent during November weighed by the political uncertainty following the public demonstrations and the weakness in the global markets. “The change in the prime minister and the makeup of parliament could be a positive step in improving the ongoing impasse between the government and parliaments,” investment bank EFG Hermes says in a note. In the banking sector, Commercial Bank closed flat at KD 0.810 whereas Al Ahli Bank was not traded during the session. Kuwait International Bank stagnated at KD 0.260 after trading 1.26 million shares.
Kuwait Finance House held the ground unchanged at KD 0.890 The Islamic lender has logged KD 25.3 million net profit in the third quarter — a 4.7 percent fall from same period last year. Boubyan Bank was unchanged at KD 0.600 whereas Burgan Bank was not traded during the session.
National Investment Co was flat at KD 0.192 and investment major KIPCO followed suit to wind up at KD 0.305 The company has chalked a 73 percent decline in third-quarter profit. while consolidated assets fell 3 per cent.

Flat
Al Maal Investment Co and Bayan Investment Co both closed flat whereas Al Tamdeen Investment Co climbed 4 fils to settle at KD 0.158. Al Madina For Finance and Investment Co was unchanged at 37.5 fils after trading 4.32 million shares. National Real Estate Co slipped 4 fils while Tamdeen Real Estate Co stagnated at KD 0.224. The company has posted a 5.4% rise in net earnings to KD 3.9 million during the first nine months of 2011 and in the third-quarter, the profit surged 3640 percent. Mabanee Co eased 10 fils to KD 0.870. National Industries Group rose 5 fils on back of 1.35 million shares and Kuwait Pipes was flat at KD 0.130. RISCO ticked 2 fils lower and Gulf Cables closed flat. The company’s net profit in third quarter rose 6.2% year-on-year to KD 2.05 million. ACICO edged 2 fils higher to KD 0.232 and Equipment Holding Co was up 1 fils at 52 fils. Sultan Center stagnated at KD 0.122 . The company saw net losses of KD 5.6 million or 10 fils per share, for the first nine months of 2011.

The bourse had been downbeat during last week. It closed lower in 4 of the 5 declining 43.7 points week on week. However it has gained 21.8 points so far during the month and 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, Al Aman Investment Co has posted a net loss of KD 1,581,185 and loss per share 3.3 fils in the nine-month period ending Sep 30. This compares with net profit of KD 738,187 and earnings per share of 1.5 fils in the same period last year. Kuwait bourse authorities have halted trading in Global Investment House saying its accumulated losses to the end of September had exceeded 75 percent of its capital, contravening market rules.

Global has posted a net loss of KD 54,224,000 and loss per share of 44 fils in the nine-months period ending September 2011 as against net loss of KD 46,241,000 and loss per share of 38 fils in the same period last year. 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.