KSE index rebounds amid bargain buying NBK jumps 20 fils; KIPCO flat

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KUWAIT CITY, Jan 24: Kuwait headed north amid bargain buying on Sunday following sharp losses during last week. The bourse closed 28.62 pts higher at 4,974.95 after trading briefly above the 5,000 pts mark even as oil prices wound up the week with a sentiment boosting uptick. The KSX 15 benchmark jumped 18.23 points to 785.97 pts paring the month’s losses to 99 points while weighted index rose 5.79 points. The volume turnover meanwhile swelled past the 200 million mark to hit the month’s highest. Over 219 million shares changed hands – an 88.8 percent rebound from Thursday.

The sectors closed mostly in the green turf. Telecom sector outshone the rest with 1.66 percent whereas oil and gas shed 0.75 pct, the biggest loser of the day. In terms of volume, banks notched the highest market share of 38 percent while financial services and real estate followed with 24.9 percent and 22.8 pct contributions. Among the day’s prime movers, sector bellwether National Bank of Kuwait rallied 20 fils on back of 3.4 million shares to close at KD 0.670 while Kuwait Finance House climbed 15 fils to KD 0.455 with volume of 3.5 million.

Mabanee Co jumped 40 fils to KD 0.850. Zain rose 5 fils to KD 0.330 and is down 20 fils from start of the month whereas Wataniya Telecom (Ooredoo) held the ground steady at KD 1.040 with thin trading. Kuwait Telecommunications Co (VIVA) added 10 fils and logistics major Agility gained 15 fils on back of over 1 million shares. KIPCO was flat at KD 0.500 and Bayan Investment Co nudged 1.5 fils into green. The company has obtained the approval of Capital Markets Authority to sell 30,319,197 shares for 6 months from the date of the approval.

The market opened strong and rose higher in early trade. The price index climbed past the 5,000 pts mark to peak at 5019 points amid spurt in buying across the sectors. It moved sideways past the mid-session and slipped to bottom at 4947.36 pts in the final minutes before clawing back to close with modest gains. Top gainer of the day, Al Dar National Real Estate Co vaulted 12.2 pct to 23 fils while Gulf Finance Co climbed 10.8 pct to stand next. Osoul Investment Co slumped 13.33 pct, the steepest decliner of the day and Ithmar Bank topped the volume with over 71 million shares.

Reflecting the day’s upswing, the market spread was heavily skewed towards the winners. 82 stocks advanced whereas 27 closed lower. Of the 136 counters active on Sunday, 27 closed flat. 4328 deals worth over KD 16 million were transacted – a 70 pct surge in value from the day before. National Industries Group, the flagship company of the Kharafi Group, rose 4 fils on back of 1.7 million shares and Gulf Cable gained 10 fils. Kuwait Cement Co too climbed 10 fils whereas Kuwait Portland Cement stood pat at KD 0.980 after giving up strong early gains. Jazeera Airways jumped 40 fils to KD 0.790 whereas NAPESCO and Humansoft Holding Co were down 30 fils each to end at KD 0.600 and KD 0.770 respectively.

Metal and Recycling Co rose 3 fils to 57 fils and Kuwait Foundry Co was up 4 fils at KD 0.212. Shed Equipment Holding Co added 3.5 fils whereas ACICO Industries and Qurain Petrochemical Industries Co closed flat. Educational Holding Group shed 20 fils to settle at KD 0.178. City Group held steady at KD 0.380 and ALAFCO too did not budge from its earlier close of KD 0.192 Zima Holding took in 2 fils and Jeeran Holding Co nudged 1 fils up. The company has logged a net profit of KD 477,353 and earnings per share of 3.5 fils in the nine-month period ending Nov 31, 2015 rebounding from a net loss of KD 5.72 million and loss per share of 42.06 fils in the same period of 2014.

Kuwait and Gulf Link Transport Co inched 0.5 fils up while KGP Logistics Co closed 1.5 fils higher at 46 fils. Burgan Well Drilling Co rose 6 fils to 114 fils and Mezzan Holding gained 10 fils. In the banking sector, Gulf Bank was unchanged at KD 0.208 whereas Commercial Bank of Kuwait and Al Ahli Bank were up 10 fils each to close at KD 0.510 and KD 350 respectively. Ahli United Bank paused at KD 0.420 off slight early highs and Kuwait International Bank added 8 fils. Burgan Bank rose 5 fils and Boubyan Bank gained 15 fils to settle at KD 0.390. Warba Bank stood pat at KD 0.160 with a volume of 1.3 million. Kuwait Investment Co slipped 3 fils and International Financial Advisors inched 1 fils higher.

The company has won the nod of Capital Markets Authority on December 6, 2015, for its IFA’s request to sell own 47,110,564 shares over a period of 6 months. National Investment Co took in 1 fils whereas KFIC and Ektittab Holding closed flat. KMEFIC and Aayan Leasing and Investment Co were up 2 fils each and Al Ahleia Insurance Co jumped 20 fils. The market was rattled by sustained sell-off during last week. The price index closed lower in all the five sessions and tumbled 319 points week-on-week. It has slumped 641 points so far during the month and has slid 11.4 pct year-to-date.

KSE, with 213 listed companies, is the second largest bourse in the region. In the bourse related news, Kuwait Building Materials Mfg. has logged a net profit KD 446,935 earnings per share 14.74 fils in the year ending Dec 31, 2015 down from net profit of KD 668,360 and earnings per share of 22.04 fils in the year before. Board of Directors has recommended 10% cash dividends. Al-Mowasat Health Care Co has posted a net profit of KD 3.34 million and earnings per share of 32.89 fils in the year ending Dec 31, 2015 as against net profit of KD 2.005 million and earnings per share of 19.73 fils in the same period last year.

The Board of Directors has recommended 15% cash dividend. Gulf Insurance Group has been granted the approval by Capital Markets. Authority on January 7, 2016 to buy back or sell a maximum of 10% of its shares for 6 months from date of the approval. Al Safat Real Estate Co has incurred a net loss of KD 53,673 and loss per share of 0.22l fils in the period ending 31 Oct 2015 as compared to net profit of KD 96,933 and earnings per share of 0.40 fils in the same period of 2014. Strategia Investment Co has won the Capital Markets Authority’s approval for the company’s request to buy back or sell up to 10% of own shares over a period of 6 months.

By John Mathews Arab Times Staff

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