KUWAIT CITY, Jan 27: Kuwait stocks ticked higher on Sunday extending the gains to the 7th straight session. The index rose 3.32 pts to 6205.97 pts as investors toed the sidelines in absence of further cues after select banks announced their earnings last week. Some of the mid-caps shined whereas the blue chips closed mixed. The KSX 15 benchmark slipped 1.51 pts to 1,044.46 points, retreating from the record high reached in the day before while weighted index inched 0.6 pts higher. The volume turnover meanwhile receded further. 312.13 million shares changed hands — down 14.5 percent from the day before. It had hit the month’s highest level on Tuesday following the better than expected earnings by NBK. The sectors swayed marginally in both directions. The technology, the top performer, rallied 2.28 percent whereas banks dropped 0.49 percent, the biggest loser of the day. In terms of volume, financial services topped with 40.04 percent market share while real estate and industrials followed with 3.72 percent and 10.35 percent respectively.

Mabanee Co rallied 20 fils to KD 1.220 while Salhiya Real Estate climbed 10 fils to KD 0.355. National Industries Co added 10 fils to settle at KD 0.340 and PAPCO followed suit. Kuwait Foundry Co rose 5 fils recouping the loss in the previous session.
Zain held the ground unchanged at KD 0.820 off early lows whereas Wataniya Telecom slid 40 fils with thin trading. Agility was up 10 fils at KD 0.570 after stagnating in the day before. The stock has rallied 60 fils so far during the month.
The market opened choppy and moved sideways in early trade. The index continued to moved flat as investors remained wary of the market direction before slipping into red past the mid-session. It hit the day’s lowest level of 6,193.04 pts before clawing back to close marginally in the positive region.

Rallied
Top gainer of the day, PAPCO rallied 10 percent to 110 fils and Marakez gained 7.35 percent to stand next. Securities Group Co tumbled 7.81 percent , the steepest decliner of the day, and Munshaat topped the volume with 26.97 million shares.
The market spread was evenly poised. 47 stocks advanced and the same number of shares closed lower. Of the 142 counters active on Sunday, 48 closed flat. 6,075 deals worth KD 27.822 million were transacted — down 8.89 percent in value from the day before.
Burgan Well Drilling Co rose 6 fils to KD 0.186 and Jazeera Airways was up 5 fils at KD 0.355. The carrier has raised its capital by 74 percent to KD 42 million through a share issue of 178 million shares priced at 100 fils each from Dec 16 to 31 which was 2.25 times oversubscribed.
“Although we may be in the anticipation period (for fourth-quarter earnings), the market is reacting very well to every other announcement particularly marked by the banks that have already announced,” Global Investment House said in a note.
“The market may continue its uptrend yet there also will be selling pressures that may interrupt the surge up we have been anticipating,” it added.

On the downside, Gulf Cables dropped 20 fils erasing the gains in the last session while City Group Co slid 25 fils. Kuwait Pipes eased 2 fils to KD 0.114 and Aref Energy Co ticked 1 fils lower. National Industries Group was unchanged at KD 0.228.
In the banking sector, National Bank of Kuwait fell 10 fils to KD 0.970 with a volume of 1.18 million shares while Gulf Bank was down 5 fils at KD 0.405. The bank’s income before provisions amounted to KD 121.4 million, up 13% from the year before while net profit was almost flat at KD 30.9 million. The Board has recommended the distribution of 5% bonus shares. Earnings per share stood at 12 fils.
Al Ahli Bank added 10 fils to close at KD 0.590 whereas Commercial Bank of Kuwait was not traded during the session. Ahli United Bank slipped 10 fils. The bank has recorded a net profit of KD 38.53 million and earnings per share 36.2 fils in the year ending 31/12/2012 . The Board of Directors has recommended a dividend payout of cash 18 percent and 10 % bonus shares.

Flat
Kuwait International Bank was flat at KD 0.315 and Burgan Bank too did not budge from its earlier close of KD 0.560 after giving up slight early gains. The stock has climbed 30 fils from start of the month. Kuwait Finance House rose 10 fils to KD 0.850 whereas Boubyan Bank pulled 10 fils lower.
International Financial Advisors was flat at 50 fils and National Investment Co too did not budge from its earlier close of KD 0.162. KIPCO stagnated at KD 0.410 and Bayan Investment Co too was unchanged at 38 fils. The company has won the approval of the Capital Market Authority on its request to sell own shares amounting to 34,499,385 over a period of 6 months.
Kuwait Gulf Links gained 5 fils on back of 5.5 million shares whereas ALAFCO closed flat at KD 0.355. The company has achieved a net profit of KD 11 million and earnings per share of 14 fils for the first quarter ended Dec 31, 2012.
KAMCO fell 4 fils and Sokouk Holding Co was down by same measure with a volume of 9.3 million shares. Noor Financial Investment Co was unchanged at 63 fils. The company has posted a net profit of KD 3.1 million and during the first nine months of 2012 while earnings per share came in at 9 fils.
International Finance Co inched 1 fils lower whereas Kuwait Financial Centre Co closed flat. Warba Insurance Co held steady at KD 0.112 . Standard and Poor’s has affirmed Warba Insurance Company’s ‘BBB’ rating with stable outlook.

The bourse headed north during last week. It closed higher in all the fours sessions and rallied 63.35 pts week-on-week. The index soared 271.72 points from start of the month after edging lower in December. KSE, with 213 listed companies, is the second largest bourse in the region.
In the bourse related news, Kuwait Building Materials Mfg Co registered a net profit KD 411,453 and earnings per share of 14.2 fils in the full year ending 31/12/2012 as against KD 183,142 earnings and 6.3 fils EPS in the year before. The Board of Directors has recommended dividend payout of cash 5 % or 5 fils plus 5 % bonus shares
STRATEGIA’s has decided to increase the capital by 100% from KD 15 million to KD 30 million. The share will have a face value of 100 fils and 2 fils premium fees.
Al-Enmaa Real Estate Co has posted a net profit of KD 2,423,240 and earnings per share of 5.38 fils in the year ended 30 Oct 2012 as against profit of KD 1,102,311 and EPS of 2.45 fils in the year before period. The Board of Directors has recommended no dividend payout for the fiscal year.