KUWAIT CITY, Feb 20: Kuwait stocks pulled higher Monday, extending the gains to the third straight session. The index rose 31.3 points in volatile trade helped by buying in some of the mid-caps while profit booking weighed on banks.
The blue chips closed mixed even as investors look for cues to sustain the rally which took the benchmark to a 7-month high in the day before.
The bourse closed at 6,114.70 points after slipping into a trough earlier in the session while the weighted index inched 0.46 pts to 410.43. The volume turnover crossed the 1,000 million to hit a multi-year high. 1,060.98 million shares changed hands — up 33.1 percent from Sunday. The bourse has been rallying strongly since second week of February and has closed higher in 8 of the last 9 sessions.

Agility rose 10 fils to KD 0.395 adding to an identical gain in the day before and saw a volume turnover of 5.19 million shares while Wataniya Telecom added 20 fils to settle at KD 2.040. The telecom service provider has climbed 40 fils from start of the month.
Zain held the ground unchanged at KD 0.860 off early lows and the counter saw 3.57 million shares change hands. The telecom has logged a net profit of $1.03 billon in 2011 and notched a fourth-quarter net profit of $268 million.
Among other notable gainers, NAPESCO rose 20 fils to KD 0.395 and National Industries Co climbed 25 fils on thin trading. IFA Hotels and Resorts Co and Egypt Kuwait Holding were up 15 fils each. Kuwait Portland Cement added 20 fils while Boubyan Petrochemical was up 10 fils at KD 0.570.

Eased
On the downside, Kuwait Food Co (Americana) shed 20 fils to wind up at KD 1.140 while Hits Telecom and ALACFO eased 10 fils each. National Industries Group edged 2 fils lower with a volume turnover of KD 0.232 and Kuwait Cement Co fell 10 fils.
The market opened strong and pulled higher in early trade. The index however failed to hold on to the gains and retreated sharply to bottom at 6068.9 points. It rebounded as buying commenced in some of the mid and low prices stocks and hit the day’s highest of 6118 points well past the mid-session. The index moved sideways thereafter and ticked slightly lower at close.
Top gainers of the day, Safat Real Estate Co and Al Ahleia Holding Co spiked 17.87 percent each. Kuwait Business Town Real Estate Co slid 8.9 percent, the biggest loser of the day and Al Ahleia Holding Group also topped the volume with 108.08 million shares.

The market spread was biased towards the gainers. 56 stocks advanced while 38 closed lower. Of the 123 counters active on Sunday, 28 closed flat. 10,397 deals worth KD 75.45 million were transacted - a 29.7 percent increase in value from the day before.
In the banking sector, National Bank of Kuwait closed flat at KD 1.180 off early lows and saw a volume turnover of 2.71 million shares while Gulf Bank eased 5 fils to KD 0.485. The lender is trading 25 fils lower from start of the year and is down 5 fils so far during the month. Commercial Bank of Kuwait stagnated at KD 0.750
Burgan Bank slipped 5 fils to KD 0.455 whereas Al Ahli Bank was not traded during the session. The lender has logged net profit of KD 50.3 million in 2011, while the . earnings per share clocked 35 fils. The Board of Directors has recommended a cash dividend of 15 percent and 5 percent bonus shares.
Ahli United Bank dropped 10 fils to KD 0.870 and Kuwait International Bank followed suit to end at KD 0.250 after trading 3.02 million shares. Boubyan Bank held the ground unchanged at KD 0.570.

Retreated
Kuwait Finance House retreated 10 fils to KD 0.840 with a volume turnover of 2.65 million shares. The lender has posted annual net profit of KD 80,342,341 while earnings per share stood at 30.2 fils. The Board of Directors have recommended a cash dividend payout of 15 percent in addition to 8 bonus shares.
Investment major KIPCO closed flat at KD 0.325 while International Financial Advisors added 3 fils to end at 67 fils and the volume turnover chalked 62.7 million shares. National Investment Co fell 2 fils. Kuwait Stock Exchange’s Capital Market Authority (CMA) has approved the request of National Investments Co’s to buy back 10 percent of its shares for six months till July 3rd.
Kuwait Pipes stagnated at KD 0.126 whereas United Industries Co fell 2 fils. UIC has posted annual net profit of KD 1,210,449 for 2011. The earnings per share clocked 2.46 fils and he Board of Directors have recommended no dividend payout.

The bourse has been rallying strongly from start of the week and has gained 131.5 points in last two sessions. The index has soared 244.5 pts from start of the month after posting modest rise in January. KSE, with 213 listed companies, is the second largest bourse in the region.
In the bourse related news, NBK Capital, the investment banking arm of the lender, is selling its stake in Saudi fleet leasing and car rental firm Hanco and may also cash out in an initial public offering for its Turkish investment Kilic Deniz.
Alargan International Real Estate Co announced obtaining the Money Markets Authority to issue bonds up to KD 26.5 million divided over 2 portions with a maturity of 5 years.
KSE has lifted the ban on trading of Ekttitab Holding Co’s share with effect from Jan 4, 2012. This move follows the fall in shareholders’ holding following the reduction of capital from KD 51,700,000 to KD 22,862,423.

The bourse authorities have announced suspension of Burgan Well Drilling Co with effect from Jan 2, 2012 for failing to pay annual membership fee for 2011/2012.
Al Safat Real Estate Co has posted a net loss of KD 1,435,068 and loss per share of 5.98 fils in the first nine-months of the year as compared to a net loss of KD 745,249 and loss per share of 3.11 fils in the same period last year.
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 Sept 30. This compares with net profit of KD 738,187 and earnings per share of 1.5 fils in the same period last year.