Kuwait price index posts modest gains; volume up – Humansoft Holding soars 195 fils; Ooredoo dips

This news has been read 4954 times!

KUWAIT CITY, Aug 27: Kuwait stocks pulled higher on Sunday as it kicked off the week on cheery note. The price index climbed 29.1 points in volatile session to 6,914.27 points led by banking majors and some of the mid-caps.

The KSX 15 benchmark rose 7.41 points to 987.97 pts taking the month’s gains to 44 points while weighted index edged 0.92 pts higher. The volume turnover meanwhile rose for the second consecutive session. 74.4 million shares changed hands – up 6 pct from the day before.

The sectors closed mostly in green. Technology outpaced the rest with 2.46 percent gain whereas telecommunications shed 0.93 pct, the worst performer of the day. In terms of volume, financial services mustered the highest market share of 36.3 pct and real estate trailed with 24.4 percent contribution.

Among the standout performers, National Bank of Kuwait rose 4 fils to 744 fils recouping most of Thursday’s losses and Kuwait Finance House rallied 6 fils on back of 4.2 million shares. KIPCO took in 2 fils while Humansoft Holding soared 195 fils to KD 4.250.

Zain dropped 6 fils to 496 fils after trading 5.7 million shares and Ooredoo shed 20 fils with thin volume. Kuwait Telecommunications Co stood pat at 803 fils and Agility was up 8 fils extending an identical gain in the last session.

Gulf Bank dialed up 1 fil and Burgan Bank paused at 372 fils. The bank has posted a profit of KD 21.07 million in the second quarter, a 24.6 pct increase from same period last year.

The market opened on a tame note and edged lower in early trade. The price index slipped further to plumb the day’s lowest level of 6,871.26 points and rebounded sharply. It peaked at 6,820.62 pts almost half way into the session and dipped again briefly before clawing back to close with modest gains.

Top gainer of the day, Gulf Finance Co vaulted 19.9 pct to 72.1 fils and International Resorts Co rallied 8.6 pct to stand next. Jiyad tumbled 18.54 percent, the steepest decliner of the day and Ahli United Bank topped the volume with 8.5 million shares.

Mirroring the day’s gains, the winners outnumbered the losers. 57 stocks advanced whereas 52 closed lower. Of the 123 counters active on Sunday, 14 closed flat. 2819 deal worth KD 13.39 million were transacted – a 0.35 pct rise in value from the day before.

National Industries Group eased 1 fil to 146 fils and Gulf Cable dipped 9 fils. Kuwait Portland Cement Co slipped 4 fils to 966 fils while Heavy Engineering Industries and Shipbuilding Co and Equipment Holding Co stood flat at 216 fils and 47.8 fils respectively.

Kuwait National Cinema Co jumped 79 fils to KD 1.200 with thin trading while NICBM gave up 3 fils. Boubyan Petrochemical Co rallied 23 fils and Al Qurain Petrochemical Co added 4 fils. Educational Holding Group was down 4 fils at 327 fils.

Kuwait Food Co (Americana) paused at KD 1.995 after last session’s strong gains and ACICO Industries ticked 1 fil up. The company has posted a profits of KD 745,000 for the Q2 , a 35.8 pct drop from same period last year.

Higher

Jazeera Airways was unchanged at 565 fils after vacillating earlier in the session and ALAFCO clipped 2 fils. Kuwait Gulf Links Transport Co took in 1 fil and KGL Logistics ticked 0.6 fil higher. KPPC trimmed 0.5 fil to end at 51.7 fils.

NAPESCO climbed 35 fils and UPAC held ground at 715 fils. The company’s second quarter earnings rose 19.3 percent year-on-year to KD 2.29 million. During the first half , the profit increased 16.7 percent to KD 4.47 million.

Mezzan Holding rose 10 fils to 800 fils and Al Rai Media Group edged 1 fil into green. AWJ Holding eased 1 fil to 81 fils and OSOS was up 4 fils at 124 fils.

In the banking sector, Commercial Bank fell 2 fils to 398 fils and Kuwait International Bank followed suit. Al Ahli Bank gave up 1 fil before settling at 309 fils.

Gulf Bank and Al Mutahed inched 1 fil each to close at 242 fils and 418 fils respectively whereas Warba Bank dialed up 2 fils.

National Investment Co fell 2 fils to 116 fils and Kuwait Investment Co followed suit. International Financial Advisors took in 0.4 fil and Coast Investment Co ticked 1 fil into red. KMEFIC inched 1 fil up to 29 fils.

Kuwait Financial Centre (Markaz) was unchanged at 109 fils whereas Bayan Investment Co and Amwal Investment clipped 1 fil each. Securities House Co closed 1.2 fils in green and KFIC trimmed 1.5 fils.

KAMCO rose 4.8 fils to 79.9 fils and Osoul Investment Co ticked 1 fil up. Sokouk Holding dialed up 1.1 fils and Noor Financial Investment Co gave up 1 fil and Al Imtiaz added 1 fil before closing at 173 fils.

National Real Estate Co was unchanged at 121 fils and Salhiya Real Estate Co gained 7 fils. Mabanee Co dipped 8 fils to 790 fils and Mazaya Holding took in 1 fil. REAM was down 6 fils at 375 fils.

The market was mixed during last week. The main index closed higher in three of the five sessions and is unchanged week-on-week. It has rallied 64 points from the start of the month and is trading 20.29 pct higher year-to-date. KSE, with 188 listed companies, is the second largest bourse in the region.

In the bourse related news, Aayan Leasing and Investment posted losses of KD 390,000 during the second quarter as against a loss of KD 235,000 in the same period last year. During the first half , the company’s earnings soared 544.2 percent year-on-year to KD 4.67 million

Kuwait Hotels’ second quarter profits jumped by 72.5 pct to KD 15,370 in as compared to KD 55,820 in the same period a year ago. During the first half of 2017, the earnings slid by 71.5 percent to KD 152,870 from the same period last year.

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.

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

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

 

 

This news has been read 4954 times!