Kuwait bourse slides amid drop in volume – KFH sheds 20 fils; Ooredoo flat

This news has been read 9555 times!

This file photo shows traders at KSE trading floor. The bourse has witnessed pullout of six companies.

KUWAIT CITY, April 19: Kuwait stocks spiraled downwards on Wednesday as it extended its losses to fifth consecutive session. The bourse, after a tame start, dived 96.7 pts to 6,788.03 points amid broad selling pressure as mounting geopolitical tension roiled the trading floor sentiment.

The KSX 15 measure dipped 11 pts to 926.83 points while weighted index was down 4.66 points. The volume turnover meanwhile receded following Tuesday rebound. 275 million shares changed hands — a 12.6 pct drop from the day before.

All sectors closed in red barring one. Parallel market, the only gainer was up 0.10 pct whereas healthcare slumped 3.18 percent, the biggest loser of the day. Real estate notched the highest market share of 43.94 pct while financial services stood next with 31.6 percent contribution.

Among prominent losers, Kuwait Finance House skidded 20 fils to 510 fils after trading 7.9 million shares and KIPCO extended its losses with a 10 fils drop to 410 fils. Kuwait National Cinema slumped 100 fils to KD 1.400 erasing last session’s gains.

Zain fell 5 fils to 450 fils with a volume of 2.7 million shares and Ooredoo stood pat at KD 1.220. Kuwait Telecommunications Co (VIVA) was unchanged at 860 fils and Agility too did not budge from its earlier close of 630 fils.

Gulf Bank slipped 2 fils to 248 fils and National Bank of Kuwait held ground at 690 fils after trading over 1 million shares. The bank has posted a net profit of KD 85.4 million in the first quarter of 2017 as against KD 78.9 mln in the same period last year

The market opened on flat note and drifted sideways in early trade. The main index crested at 6,902.97 pts and headed south thereafter as sentiment turned sour. It bottomed at 6,763.3 pts in the final minutes before clawing back some of the losses at close.

Top gainer of the day, KBMMC jumped 6.8 pct to 156 fils while Yiaci climbed 5.2 percent to stand next. Sanam Real Estate Co slid 9 percent, the steepest decliner of the day and Remal topped the volume with over 30 million shares.

Reflecting the day’s slide, the market spread was heavily skewed towards the losers. 16 stocks advanced whereas 92 closed lower. Of the 137 counters active on Wednesday, 29 closed flat. 5,723 deals worth KD 27.5 million were transacted — a 0.56 pct rise in value from the day before.

National Industries Group fell 2 fils to 120 fils and Gulf Cable was down 5 fils at 460 fils. Heavy Engineering Industries and Shipbuilding Co gave up 2 fils and Contracting and Marine Services Co followed suit to end at 224 fils. Metal and Recycling Co paused at 78 fils with thin trading.

Jazeera Airways bucked the broader trend to gain 10 fils and ALAFCO dipped 9 fils to 246 fils. Nafais erased Tuesday’s gains with 10 fils drop to 160 fils whereas Combined Group Contracting Co climbed 20 fils to 560 fils.

Tripped

Kuwait Foundry Co shed 20 fils while Boubyan Petrochemical Co and Educational Holding Co tripped 10 fils each. Mowasat Hospital slid 25 fils to 310 fils and Al Qurain Petrochemical Co slipped 3 fils to 335 fils.

Humansoft Holding soared 100 fils extending the strong gains in last session whereas Kuwait Portland Cement Co stood pat at 980 fils. Shuaiba Paper Industries Co dipped 30 fils and Independent Petroleum Group was down 5 fils at 425 fils.

Equipment Holding Co dialed down 3 fils after trading over 2 million shares and Automated Systems Co closed flat. Zimah Holding slipped 3 fils to 55 fils and Mezzan Holding paused at KD 1.000.

Kuwait and Gulf Link Transport Co fell 3 fils to 60 fils and KGL Logistics Co gave up 5 fils to close at 66 fils. Al Rai Media Group was unchanged at 176 fils and OSOS too did not budge from its earlier close of 142 fils.

Al Ahli Bank fell 5 fils to 305 fils while Commercial Bank and Ahli United Bank stood pat at 425 fils and 305 fils respectively. Burgan Bank gave up 5 fils to settle at 335 fils.

Burgan Bank slipped 5 fils to 335 fils and Boubyan Bank followed suit. Kuwait International Bank dropped 10 fils after trading 2.5 million shares and Warba Bank closed 5 fils lower at 250 fils.

National Investment Co dropped 4 fils and Kuwait Investment Co paused at 107 fils, Coast Investment Co dialed down 2.5 fils after trading 13.3 million shares and Aayan closed 1.5 fils in red

KAMCO inched 1 fil down to 94 fils and KFIC took in 1 fil. Al Deera Holding and Sokouk Holding clipped 2 fils each while Warba Insurance Co slipped 4 fils to 93 fils.

Bayan Investment Co and Osoul Investment dropped 3 fils each while KMEFIC inched 0.5 fil down. Securities House Co eased 2 fils and Securities Group Co closed flat.

Kuwait Real Estate Co and National Real Estate Co clipped 2 fils each while Tamdeen Real Estate Co stood pat at 430 fils. Salhiya Real Estate Co dropped 5 fils and Mabanee Co gained 10 fils. Mazaya Holding was down 4 fils at 116 fils.

The market has been downbeat so far during the week and has slid 217 points in last four sessions. It has tumbled 218 points from start of the month and is trading 18 pct higher year-to-date. KSE, with 208 listed companies, is the second largest bourse in the region.

In the bourse related news, Al Mazaya Holding net profits soared 31.7 pct to KD 2.59 million in last quarter of 2016 while profits rose 10 pct to KD 10.25 million during the fiscal year of 2016. The board has recommended an annual cash dividend of 8% or 8 fils per share.

Gulf Glass Manufacturing Co’s fourth quarter net profit dipped o 64% in KD 14,000 from KD 39,000 in same period last year. During the fiscal year of 2016, profits was down 48 percent to KD 1.21 million from KD 2.34 mln in the previous year.

Al Mowasat Health Care has posted KD 1.8 million profits during the fourth quarter of 2016 and for the fiscal year of 2016, earnings rose 35.3 pct to KD 4.52 million from the year before. The board of directors has recommended a dividend payout of 20% or 20 fils per share.

Injazzat Real Estate Development has posted a net profit of KD 550,000 in the last quarter of 2016 and during the fiscal year of 2016, the bank earned KD 3.2 million. The board has recommended a cash dividend of 5% or 5 fils per share for FY 2016.

Ajial Real Estate Entertainment Company (AREEC) net losses narrowed by 22.7 pct to KD 888,620 from KD 1.15 million in Q4 of 2115. The annual profits in 2016 clocked KD 1.5 million and the board has recommended the distribution of cash dividends at 5% of capital.

By John Mathews

Arab Times Staff

 

 

 

This news has been read 9555 times!

Related Articles

Back to top button

Advt Blocker Detected

Kindly disable the Ad blocker

Verified by MonsterInsights