Kuwait index rebounds 54.55 pts; volume drops – Mabanee Co gains 20 fils; Agility dives

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KUWAIT CITY, Feb 12: Kuwait stocks headed north on Sunday as it kicked off the week on a firm note. The bourse swung 54.55 pts higher to 6,637.3 points helped by fresh buying in select counters even as the banks remained subdued.

The KSX 15 benchmark dropped 5.78 pts to 9,56.29 pts taking the month’s losses to 29 pts while weighted index inched 0.13 pts up. The volume turnover meanwhile shrank below the 500 million mark. 416.8 million shares changed hands — a 21.6 pct drop from Thursday.

The sectors closed mostly in the green. Real estate outshone the rest with 1.84 percent gain whereas insurance slid 1.63 pct, the worst performer of the day. In terms of volume, real estate accounted for the highest market share of 44,9 pct while financial services stood next with 29 percent.

Among the prime movers, Mabanee Co gained 20 fils rebounding from last session’s losses while Mazaya Holding was up 10 fils at 132 fils. Humansoft Holding Co rose 20 fils to KD 1.280 .

Zain fell 5 fils to 485 fils and Wataniya Telecom (Ooredoo) climbed 20 fils to KD 1.280 with thin trading. Kuwait Telecommunications Co (VIVA) was unchanged at KD 0.870 and logistics major Agility tumbled 50 fils after trading over 12 million shares.

Sector bellwether National Bank of Kuwait was flat at 720 fils and Kuwait Finance House followed suit. The bank has registered a fourth quarter net profit of KD 42.13 million and KD 1,65.23 mn during the 2016 fiscal year

The market opened weak and slipped into red early trade. The price index plumbed the day’s lowest level of 6,534.18 pts and rebounded thereafter in choppy trade amid spurt in buying and wound up with moderate gains.

Top gainer of the day, Hits Telecom rallied 9.26 pct to 59 fils while

MENA climbed 8.9 percent to stand next. Kuwait Hotels sank 10.9 pct, the steepest decliner of the day and Abyaar Real Estate Co topped the volume with 41.9 million shares.

Reflecting the day’s upswing, the winners vastly outled the losers, 79 stocks advanced whereas 30 closed lower. Of the 149 counters active on Sunday, 60 closed flat. 8781 deals worth KD 42.28 million were transacted — a 23.5 pct drop in value from the day before.

National Industries Group was unchanged at 144 fils while Gulf Cable was up 10 fils at 560 fils. Heavy Engineering and Shipbuilding Co stood pat at 228 fils and Contracting and Marine Services Co too did not budge from its earlier close of 63 fils.

Kuwait Food Co (Americana) shed 20 fils erasing previous session’s gains while Kuwait Foundry Co dropped 15 fils. Metal and Recycling Co was flat at 76 fils and Shuaiba Industrial Co was down 20 fils ay 310 fils.

Kuwait Cement Co climbed 10 fils to 495 fils and Kuwait Portland Cement Co paused at KD 1.060. ACICO Industries and Boubyan Petrochemical Co was unchanged at 300 fils and 580 fils respectively whereas Al Kout Industries Co gained 10 fils.

Stalled

Kuwait National Cinema Co slid 40 fils to KD 1.120 while Al Qurain Petrochemical Co and Combined Group Contracting Co stalled at 310 fils and 500 fils respectively. Burgan Well Drilling Co rose 3 fils to 97 fils and Equipment Holding Co followed suit.

Jazeera Airways rose 10 fils to 660 fils and ALAFCO added 5 fils to settle at 255 fils. Mezzan Holding Co shed 20 fils and Al-Rai Media Group was up 4 fils at 180 fils.

Kuwait and Gulf Link Transport Co took in 2 fils and KGL Logistics Co stood pat at 73 fils after vacillating in a tight range. Zimah Holding Co added 3 fils on back of 3.5 million shares and Automated Systems Co dialed up 2 fils.

In the banking sector, Gulf Bank eased 2 fils to 246 fils whereas Al Ahli Bank and Commercial Bank were flat at 310 fils and 500 fils respectively. Ahli United Bank was up 5 fils at 440 fils.

Burgan Bank and Boubyan Bank were unchanged at 320 fils and 410 fils respectively while Kuwait International Bank clipped 2 fils. Warba Bank took in 2 fils before settling at 248 fils.

National Investment Co and Securities Group Co were flat at 136 fils and 100 fils respectively whereas KMEFIC inched 1 fils into red. Al Mal Investment Co stalled at 25 fils while Coast Investment Co and Securities House Co dialed up 2 fils each.

KAMCO stagnated at 87 fils while Noor Financial Investment Co and Sokouk Holding added 2.5 fils each. Al Deera Holding took in 2 fils and Kuwait Investment Co gave up 1 fils to close at 98 fils International Financial Advisors rose 2.5 fils to 43.5 fils.

Bayan Investment Co took in 0.5 fils and Ektittab Holding edged 2.5 fils higher. Al-Imtiaz was up 4 fils with brisk trading while Tamdeen Investment Co paused at 310 fils.

Kuwait Real Estate Co inched 1 fils higher on back of over 3 million shares and United Real Estate Co climbed 5 fils to 104 fils. National Real Estate Co gave up 6 fils whereas Tamdeen Real Estate Co closed flat.

The market seesawed during last week. The main index closed lower in three of the five sessions and tanked 264 points week-on-week. It has slid 195  points from start of the month but is up 15.47 pct year-to-date. KSE, with 208 listed companies, is the second largest bourse in the region.

In the bourse related news, 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 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.

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.

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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