Kuwait bourse edges lower; volume tapers – VIVA dips 40 fils; KIPCO unchanged

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KUWAIT CITY, Oct 18: Kuwait stocks wound up slightly in red on Tuesday as it extended its losses to fifth consecutive session. The bourse eased 3.52 pts to 5,283.59 pts even as the board remained narrowly mixed. The heavyweights were mostly muted even as the investors digested the trickling third quarter results.

The KSX 15 eased 1.59 pts to 795.74 points taking the month’s losses to 19 points while weighted index was little changed at 343.1 pts.

The volume turnover meanwhile sank after rising in the last three sessions. 54.25 million shares changed hands — a 29.2 pct drop from Monday.

The sectors diverged in a tight range. Basic materials outshone the rest with 0.47 pct gain whereas telecommunications dipped 1.89 percent, the biggest loser of the day. In terms of volume, financial services garnered the highest market share of 38.9 pct while banks and real estate followed with 20 pct and 23.22 percent contributions respectively.

In the individual shares, Kuwait Finance House fell 5 fils to KD 0.460 and Boubyan Bank was down 10 fils at KD 0.375. KIPCO stood pat at KD 0.500 and has shed 50 fils so far during the month and Kuwait Food Co (Americana) too did not budge from its earlier close of KD 2.600.

Zain rose 5 fils to 335 fils whereas Wataniya Telecom (Ooredoo) was unchanged at KD 1.100 with thin trading. Kuwait Telecommunications Co (VIVA) slid 40 fils and logistics major Agility stalled at 465 fils off slight early lows.

Gulf Bank took in 2 fils and National Bank of Kuwait paused at KD 0.570 after trading 4.7 million shares.

The bank has posted a net profit of KD 219.26 million earnings per share 39 fils in the nine-month period ending September 2016.

The market opened weak and fell sharply in early trade. The price index moved sideways well past the mid-session before slipping deeper into red amid selling in select counters. It bottomed at 5,263.85 pts before clawing back most of the losses at close.

Top gainer of the day, Ektittab Holding Co rallied 7.58 pct to 35.5 fils while Commercial Facilities Co climbed 6.17 pct to stand next. Muntazahat Holding Co slid 6.67 pct, the steepest decliner of the day and National Bank of Kuwait continued to top the volume with 4.7 million shares.

Reflecting the day’s tame mood, the market spread was evenly poised. 36 stocks advanced and an identical number of shares closed lower. Of the 110 counters active on Tuesday, 38 closed flat. 1686 deals worth KD 9.6 million were transacted – a 30.8 pct drop in value from the day before.

Gained

National Industries Group , the flagship company of the Kharafi Group, was unchanged at 104 fils and Gulf Cable gained 10 fils to close at KD 0.370. Heavy Engineering Industries and Shipbuilding Co climbed 8 fils and Boubyan Petrochemical Co was up 5 fils at 455 fils.

Kuwait Foundry Co took in 2 fils and Jazeera Airways Co rose 10 fils to KD 0.830. Safwan Trading and Contracting Co gave up 5 fils before closing at 380 fils

Mezzan Holding Co jumped 30 fils whereas Zima Holding Co paused at 39 fils. The company has posted a net profit of KD 33,489 and earnings per share of 0.33 fils in the first half of 2016 as against a net loss of KD 118,457 and losses per share of 1.18 fils in the same period last year.

ACICO Industries Co dipped 10 fils to 280 fils and Equipment Holding Co inched 1 fils into green. Kuwait and Gulf Link Transport Co dialed up 2 fils while KGL Logistics Co closed 1 fils higher.

UPAC shed 10 fils and Alrai Media Group Co clipped 2 fils. The company has reported a net profit of KD 2.93 million and earnings per share of 12.695 fils in the six-month period ending June 30, 2016.

In the banking sector, Commercial Bank of Kuwait was unchanged at 380 fils whereas Al Ahli Bank added 5 fils recouping the Monday’s losses. Kuwait International Bank stood pat at 182 fils after trading 1.22 million shares.

Burgan Bank was flat at 320 fils off early lows and Ahli United Bank followed suit to wind up at 380 fils. Warba Bank held steady at 162 fils .

Kuwait Investment Co rose 4 fils to 87 fils and National Investment Co was up by same measure before closing at 106 fils. Coast Investment Co eased 1 fils while Arzan Investment Co and Al Mal Investment Co paused at 28.5 fils and 22 fils respectively.

KFIC and Bayan Investment Co clipped 0.5 fils each while Al Deera Holding Co inched 0.5 fils into green. Al Madina Investment Co was unchanged at 42.5 fils and Noor Financial Investment Co followed suit.

Securities House Co stagnated at 38.5 fils and Al Salam closed 1.5 fils in red. Tamdeen Investment Co added 5 fils whereas Warba Insurance Co gave up 2 fils. Kuwait Insurance Co climbed 8 fils to 246 fils.

Kuwait Real Estate Co inched 1 fils down after trading 1.2 million shares while National Real Estate Co and Salhiya Real Estate Co were flat at 74 fils and 365 fils respectively. Mabanee Co and Mazaya Holding paused at KD 0.800 and 104 fils respectively.

The market has been trending lower so far during the week and has shed 44 pts in last three sessions. It has dived 114 pts so far during the month and has retreated 5.9 pct year-to-date. KSE, with 198 listed companies, is the second largest bourse in the region.

In the bourse related news, Jeeran Holding Co. has logged a net profit of KD 431,750 and earnings per share of 3.17 fils in the first nine-month of 2016 up sharply from net profit of KD 177,518 and earnings per share of 1.30 fils in the 9M of 2015.

Kuwait Building Materials Mfg has registered a net profit of KD 159,204 and earnings per share of 5.3 fils in the January-September period as against net profit of KD 363,059 and earnings per share of 12 fils in the same period last year.

By John Mathews

Arab Times Staff

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