Kuwait index wraps up week with hefty gains

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NBK rallies 18 fils, UPAC skids

KUWAIT CITY, Dec 3: Kuwait stocks swung higher on Thursday to wrap up the week on a buoyant note following last session’s rebound. The All Shares Index, after a tame start, galloped 80.41 pts to 5,542.60 points led by renewed buying in blue chips and some of the mid-caps.

The Premier Market rose 16.67 pts to 4,390.54 points while Main Index gained 16.67 pts. The BK 50 Main index sprinted 42.29 pts to 4,495.89 points. The volume turnover meanwhile soared past the 300 million mark to hit a 6-week high. Over 302 million shares changed hands – a 96 percent surge from the day before.

The sectors closed mostly in green turf. Real Estate outpaced the rest with 2.12 percent gain whereas Utilities shed 0.34 pct, the biggest loser of the day. Banking sector topped in both volume and value with 134.4 million shares traded for KD 49.3 million.

Among the prime movers, sector bellwether National Bank of Kuwait rallied 18 fils to 845 fils on back of over 13 million shares and Kuwait Finance House too extended last session’s gains with a 13 fils jump to 681 fils after moving over 20 million shares. Mabanee Co vaulted 19 fils to 660 fils taking the month’s gains to 36 fils. Zain scaled 11 fils on back of 12.58 million shares to close at 616 fils while Ooredoo was up 7 fils at 622 fils. stc climbed 9 fils and Agility extended its gains with a 19 fils jump to 689 fils. Humansoft Holding spiked 171 fils to KD 3.641 and Boursa swung 16 fils higher.

The market opened on a subdued note and moved sideways in early trade. The main index eased slightly to plumb the day’s lowest level of 5,448 pts and edged higher amid buying spurt in most of the blue chips. It drifted flat past the midsession and revved up again in the final hour to close with hefty gains. Top gainer of the day, PAPCO soared 15.35 pct to 78.9 fils while Tijara scaled 9.74 pct to stand next.

UPAC skidded 17.84 pct, the steepest decliner of the day while Ahli United Bank topped the volume with over 47 million shares. Reflecting the day’s gains, the market spread was skewed towards the winners. 75 stocks advanced whereas 38 closed lower. Of the 124 counters active on Thursday, 11 closed flat. 12,953 deals worth KD 85.12 million were transacted during the session. National Industries Group rose 4 fils to 181 fils on back of 2.89 million shares while Mezzan Holding eased 1 fil to 600 fils. Boubyan Petrochemical Co stood pat at 575 fils and Al Qurain Petrochemical Co gained 6 fils. Integrated Holding Co was up 5 fils at 373 fils whereas Aznoula tripped 1 fil.

Jazeera Airways swung 20 fils up to 641 fils while ALAFCO rose 5 fils on back of 3.9 million shares. OSOS moved 7 fils into green with thin trading and Al Rai Media Group added 4 fils. Oula Fuel paused at 122 fils and Soor inched 1 fil lower to 122 fils. Kuwait Cement Co firmed up by 3 fils while Kuwait Portland Cement jumped 22 fils to 772 fils. Gulf Cement Co took in 0.8 fil and Inovest closed 2.6 fils in green. KCPC inched 1 fil higher to 345 fils and KPPC clipped 2 fils. Automated Systems Co ticked 0.5 fil up to 69.5 fils while Burgan Well Drilling added 3 fils. Metal and Recycling Co was unchanged at 40 fils. Kuwait Foundry Co slipped 7 fils to 255 fils whereas Gulf Cable sprinted 26 fils.

NICBM took in 1 fil whereas Educational Holding gave up 9 fils before settling at 339 fils. Warbacap took in 1.6 fils and Salbookh dialed up 1.5 fils. ACICO Industries eased 0.5 fil to 90.5 fils. Combined Group Contracting Co clipped 1 fil. In the banking sector, Gulf Bank rose 3 fils on back of 39.7 million shares and Kuwait International Bank followed suit. Burgan Bank gained 6 fils while Boubyan Bank climbed 8 fils to 582 fils. Ahli United Bank and Warba Bank took in 2 fils each. The market was mixed during the week. The main index closed lower in three of the five session shedding 16 pts week-on-week. It had gained 37 points during the whole of November but is down 740 points year-to-date.

By John Mathews Arab Times Staff

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