Kuwait index ends little changed in choppy trade – Zain rallies 14 fils; Humansoft Holding slides

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KUWAIT CITY, Sept 17: Kuwait stocks were little changed on Sunday as it kicked off the week on a tame note. The price index eased 2.16 points in choppy trade to 6,911.7 points even as overall sentiment remained mixed. Most of the heavyweights however closed in green.

The KSX 15 gauge jumped 12 points to 1,039 pts taking the month’s gains to 55 points while weighted index added 3.66 pts. The volume turnover meanwhile fell after scaling a fresh multi-month high in the last session. 151.5 million shares changed hands – a 10.6 pct drop from the day before.

The sectors closed mixed. Telecommunications outperformed the rest with 1 pct gain while consumer services dived 4 percent, the biggest loser of the day. In terms of volume, financial services mustered the highest market share of 33.9 pct and real estate followed with 30.5 percent contribution.

Among the standout performers, National Bank of Kuwait rallied 13 fils to 799 fils on back of over 2 million shares and KIPCO rose 6 fils recouping most of Thursday’s losses. Mabanee Co jumped 12 fils to 830 fils and Kuwait Portland Cement vaulted 85 fils.

Zain extended last session’s gains with a 14 fils climb to 542 fils with a volume of 9.6 million and Ooredoo dipped 18 fils to KD 1.162. Kuwait Telecommunication Co (VIVA) gained 22 fils and Agility scaled 13 fils to close at 977 fils.

Kuwait Finance House rallied 5 fils on back of 7.2 million shares and Warba Bank gave up 4 fils. The bank’s second quarter profit soared 860.6% year-on-year to KD 1.22 million from Q2 OF 2016.

The market opened slightly weak and slipped into red in early trade. The main index pulled up briefly before heading south again as selling dragged select counters. It bottomed at 6,866.71 points in the second half and clawed back thereafter to close almost flat.

Top gainer of the day, Jiyad jumped 13.45 pct to 54 fils and United Real Estate Co climbed 12.27 pct to stand next. Eyas For Higher and Technical Education slumped 18.6 percent, the steepest decliner of the day and National Real Estate Co topped the volume with over 15 million shares.

Despite the day’s slight downtick, the winners outnumbered the losers. 67 stocks advanced whereas 41 closed lower. Of the 125 counters active on Sunday, 17 closed flat. 5,247 deals worth over KD 28 million were transacted – a 34.3 pct dip in value from the day before.

National Industries Group took in 2 fils on back of over 3 million shares and Gulf Cable gained 16 fils. Kuwait Cement Co was unchanged at 465 fils while Heavy Engineering Industries and Shipbuilding Co dialed up 2 fils.

Jazeera Airways was flat at 589 fils off early highs and ALAFCO rose 5 fils to 374 fils. The company’s earnings surged 49 pct to KD 5.78 million in third quarter ended 30 June from same period last year.

Kuwait Foundry Co rose 4 fils to 307 fils and Equipment Holding Co closed 1.5 fils higher. Kuwait and Gulf Links Transport Co eased 1 fil to 55 fils and KGL Logistics Co stood pat at 52 fils. OSOS slipped 3 fils.

Dipped

Combined Group Contracting Co fell 4 fils to 524 fils and UPAC dipped 17 fils. The company’s second quarter earnings rose 19.3 percent year-on-year to KD 2.29 million.

NAPESCO paused at 837 fils and Humansoft Holding plunged 80 fils to KD 4.000. Boubyan Petrochemical Co inched 1 fil up and Al Qurain Petrochemical Co gave up 3 fils.

ACICO Industries climbed 10 fils to 280 fils and Burgan Well Drilling Co rose 4 fils to 83 fils with thin trading. Educational Holding Group held ground at 320 fils.

In the banking sector, Gulf Bank rose 4 fils to 239 fils on back of 3.3 million shares while Al Ahli Bank and Al Mutahed clipped 1 fil each to close at 308 fils and 424 fils respectively.

Burgan Bank and Kuwait International Bank added 3 fils each and Boubyan Bank ticked 1 fil higher to 457 fils. Commercial Bank was not traded during the session.

Kuwait Investment Co and National Investment Co inched 1 fil up to 107 fils and 113 fils respectively whereas International Financial Advisors trimmed 0.2 fils. Coast Investment Co dialed up 0.7 fils to end at 45.7 fils.

Bayan Investment Co took in 2 fils and Osoul Investment climbed 4.9 fils to 63 fils. Sokouk Holding and KMEFIC rose 0.9 fil each whereas KFIC eased 0.1 fil. Ektittab Holding was up 0.8 fil at 35.8 fils.

Noor Financial Investment Co fell 1.3 fils to 61 fils  and Amwal Investment gave up 2.5 fils. Osoul Investment gained 4.9 fils and Al Imtiaz stood pat at 180 fils. Kuwait Insurance Co slipped 10 fils to 280 fils.

National Real Estate Co climbed 10 fils to 148 fils and United Real Estate Co gained 10.9 fils. Kuwait Real Estate Co clipped 0.3 fil and Mazaya Holding eased 1 fil to 119 fils.

The market was mixed during last week. The main index closed higher in three of the five sessions and gained 16 points week-on-week. It has gained 19 pts from the start of the month and is trading 20.24 pct higher year-to-date. KSE, with 188 listed companies, is the second largest bourse in the region.

The market has been upbeat so far during the week and has gained 6 points in last two sessions. It has rallied 34 pts from the start of the month and is trading 20.5 pct higher year-to-date. KSE, with 188 listed companies, is the second largest bourse in the region.

In the bourse related news, Mabanee Company posted a 1.55 pct rise in profits to KD 12.55 million for the second quarter from Q2 of previous year. In the first half, profits ticked 1 pct up to KD 24.61 million from corresponding period of 2016.

Gulf Insurance Group’s earnings dived 27.6 pct year-on-year during the second quarter to KD 2.77 million. During the first six months of 2017, the profits dropped 21.6% to KD 5.59 million.

National International Holding Co recorded a 66.2 percent dip in the second quarter profit to KD 828,500 from same period last year. In the first half of 2017, the profits tumbled 56 percent to KD 1.2 million.

Kuwait Investment Co profits soared 158.3 percent to KD 2.97 million in the second quarter of 2017 from same period last year. In the January-June period, profits surged 283.6 pct year-on-year to KD 7.71 million.

Kuwait Real Estate Co’s net profits surged 51.2 pct year-on-year in the second quarter of 2017 to KD 1.49 million. In the first half, profits rose 10.5 percent to KD 3.16 million.

Imtiaz Investment Group’s second quarter profits soared by a whopping 1,041 pct to KD 19.97 million from same period in 2016. During the first six months, profits surged 626.3% to KD 32.32 million.

By John Mathews – Arab Times Staff

 

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