Kuwait ends 15.74 pts up in volatile session – Kuwait National Cinema gains 40 fils; KFH flat

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KUWAIT CITY, Feb 1 : Kuwait stocks headed north on Wednesday as it kicked off the month on a firm note. The price index rose 15.74 pts in volatile trade  to 6847.96 pts after two-day retreat even as the board remained mixed.

The KSX 15 rose 1.9 pts to 987.3 points and is up 102 points during the year while weighted index edged 0.79 pts higher. The volume turnover meanwhile dipped below the 600 million mark as investors’ zeal waned. 586 million shares changed hands — a  5.85 pct fall from the day before.

The sectors closed mixed. Basic materials outperformed the rest with 2.44 percent gain whereas parallel market shed 2.41 percent, the biggest loser of the day. In terms of volume, real estate  accounted for the highest market share of 41.8 percent while financial services stood next with 30.7 pct contribution.

In the individual shares, National Bank of Kuwait was unchanged at 730 fils off early lows with a volume of over 2 million  whereas KIPCO was down 10 fils at 550 fils. Kuwait Food Co (Americana) shed 20 fils and Mabanee Co gave up 10 fils extending an identical drop on Tuesday.

Zain climbed 15 fils on back of 11.4 mln shares to  510 fils while Wataniya Telecom (Ooredoo) slid 60 fils to KD 1.180. Kuwait Telecommu-nications Co ( VIVA)  dropped 10 fils and Agility stood pat at 740 fils.

Burgan Bank rose 5 fils to 335 fils and Kuwait Finance House closed flat. The bank has registered a Q4 net profit of KD 42.13 million  and KD 165.23 m during the 2016 fiscal year  The board has recommended a cash dividend of 17% or 17 fils per share.

The market opened  firm and edged higher in early trade. The price index failed to hold on to the gains and headed south  amid selling pressure. It reversed course and rose sharply to peak at 6877.24 points before retreating again and slipped into red. It bottomed at 6825 pts and clawed back in the final minutes to close modest gains.

Top gainer of the Zimah Holding Co rallied 8 pct to 67 fils while Kuwait Foundry Co jumped 7.9 percent to stand next. Safat Energy Co slumped 6.9 pct, the steepest decliner of the day and Abyaar Real Estate topped the volume with 98.6 million shares.

Despite the day’s uptick, the losers outnumbered the winners. 53 stocks advanced whereas 59 closed lower. Of the 144 counters active on Wednesday, 32 closed flat. 9585 deals worth over KD 55 mln were transacted – a 4.9 pct drop in value from the day before.

National Industries Group was flat at 160 fils with a volume  3.4 million shares and Gulf Cable followed suit after vacillating earlier in the session.  Heavy Engineering Industries and Shipbuilding Co slipped 6 fils  and RISCO was down 10 fils at 320 fils.

Kuwait Portland Cement Co gained 20 fils and Kuwait Cement Co was up 5 fils at 465 fils. Metal and Recycling Co added 3 fils while Hilal Cement Co and Al Qurain Co shed 10 fils each to close at 140 fils and 295 fils respectively.

Gains

Jazeera Airways erased Tuesday’s gains with 10 fils  drop to 680 fils while ALAFCO added 5 fils to settle at 255 fils. The company has  posted a  72.8 pct surge in profits to KD 5.2 mln in the quarter ended 31 December, 2016.

Burgan Well Drilling Co slipped 5 fils and Al Rai Media Group clipped 2 fils. Mezzan Holding Co was down 10 fils at 990 fils and Boubyan Petrochemical Co dropped 10 fils to 570 fils.

Kuwait Food Co (Americana) shed 20 fils whereas Humansoft Holding climbed 20 fils to KD 3.020. Equipment Holding Co fell 2 fils to 73 fils and NICBM  took in 2 fils to close at 214 fils. NAPESCO was unchanged at 900 fils.

OSOS and Combined Group Co dropped 10 fils each to end at 490 fils and 190 fils respectively while Kuwait National Cinema Co jumped 40 fils to KD 1.180.

In the banking sector, Gulf Bank was unchanged at 255 fils and Al Ahli Bank too did not budge from its earlier close of 325 fils. Commercial Bank of Kuwait gave up 5 fils to wind up at 405 fils.

Kuwait International Bank slipped 4 fils to 220 fils and Ahli United Bank  gained 10 fils. Boubyan Bank added 5 fils  and Warba Bank retreated 4 fils to 234 fils.

Kuwait Investment Co and National Investment Co dialed down 2 fils each while International Financial Advisors inched 1 fils into red. Coast Investment Co took in 1 fils while KFIC and Osoul Investment stood pat at  53 fils and 71 fils.

Tamdeen Investment Co and Al Imitiaz Investment Co gained 10 fils each while Bayan Investment Co edged 1 fils into red after trading over 5 million shares. KMEFIC paused at 40 fils and Sokouk  followed suit. Securities Group Co stalled at 64 fils with brisk trading.

National Real Estate Co and Kuwait Real Estate Co was unchanged at 126 fils and 81 fils respectively whereas Mazaya Holding took in 2 fils.  Salhiya Real Estate Co was up 5 fils at 395 fils.

The market has been mixed during the week and has slipped 5  pts in last  four sessions. It had rallied 1082 points during January  after  gaining 2.37 pct during whole of 2016. KSE, with 208 listed companies, is the second largest bourse in the region.

In the bourse related news, Boubyan Bank’s fourth quarter profit rose 13.5 pct year-on-year  to KD 11.44 million from KD 10.08 million in Q4- of 2015. For the full year , profit was up 16.6 pct to KD 41.07 mln from KD 35.24 million in 2015.

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 of Injazzat has recommended a cash dividend of 5% or 5 fils per share for FY 2016, with a total value of KD 2.03 million.

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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