Kuwait stock index dips; volume hits 1-month low – Agility falls 10 fils; KFH gains

This news has been read 6836 times!

KUWAIT CITY, Aug 6: Kuwait stocks slipped into red on Sunday as it kicked off the week on a dour note. The price index, after a firm start, dropped 13.71 pts to 6,811.99 pts after treading water in the last session. Some of the mid-caps shone whereas the blue-chips remained largely subdued.

The KSX 15 gauge rose 0.75 pts to 945.2 points and has climbed 60 points year-to-date while weighted index edged 0.38 points up. The volume turnover meanwhile dipped further to hit one-month low. 47.7 million shares changed hands – down 6.6 percent from the previous session.

In the individual performers, Kuwait Finance House rallied 5 fils to 542 fils after trading 1.9 million shares and Mabanee Co erased Thursday’s gains with a 8 fils drop to settle at 780 fils. Salhiya Real Estate Co dipped 13 fils to 355 fils.

Zain rose 4 fils to 443 fils on back of 1.4 million shares and Ooredoo clipped 2 fils to wind up at KD 1.123. Kuwait Telecommunications Co (VIVA) slipped 6 fils to 800 fils and Agility was down 10 fils at 820 fils extending previous session’s downtick.

National Bank of Kuwait inched 1 fil higher and Kuwait International Bank followed suit. The bank has posted a 37.1% year-on-year drop in second quarter profits to KD 3.32 million. In the January-June period, earnings stood at KD 10.92 million, down 8.9% from first half of 2016.

The market opened on a tame note and pulled higher in early trade. The main index peaked at 6,840 points and headed south thereafter as selling kicked in at select counters. It continued to drop in the second half and plumbed the day’s lowest level of 6,787.6 points in the final minutes before clawing back some the losses at close.

Top gainer of the day, UPAC jumped 10.3 pct to 770 fils and Jazeera Airways rallied 6.6 pct to stand next. Kuwait Financial Centre ( Markaz) sank 17.4 percent, the steepest decliner of the day and Ithmaar Bank topped the volume with 5.5 million shares.

Gulf Cable ticked 1 fls up whereas National Industries Group closed flat. The company bounced back to post a profit of KD 2.09 million in Q2 against a loss of KD 4.75 million in the same period last year. In the first half it logged a profit of KD 5.23 million.

ACICO Industries was unchanged at 264 fils and Equipment Holding Co inched 0.7 fil into green. Boubyan Petrochemical Co paused at 570 fils and Al Qurain Petrochemical Co gave up 4 fils to settle at 342 fils.

Educational Group Holding Co stalled at 353 fils and Humansoft Holding followed suit. The company has recorded a 19.9pct rise in second quarter profits to KD 6.03 million from Q2 of previous year. In the first half of 2017, the earnings rose 17.3 percent to KD 13.17 million.

Burgan Well Drilling Co eased 1 fil to 89 fils and OSOS dialed up 2 fils to close at 125 fils. Eyas For Higher and Technical Education shed 25 fils. Al Rai Media Group clipped 2 fils.

Slipped

Mezzan Holding slipped 5 fils to 895 fils while Heavy Engineering Industries and Shipbuilding Co dialed up 1 fil. AFAQ dipped 9 fils to 111 fils. ALAFCO climbed 10 fils to 355 fils.

In the banking sector, Gulf Bank and Al Ahli Bank eased 1 fil each to 243 fils and 318 fils respectively whereas Commercial Bank climbed 5 fils to 350 fils. Al Mutahed took in 2 fils to close at 417 fils.

Burgan Bank dialed up 2 fils and Boubyan Bank followed suit to end at 413 fils. Warba Bank inched 1 fil higher after ticked lower in the last session.

KIPCO and National Investment Co paused at 109 fils and Kuwait Investment Co edged 0.5 fil higher. International Financial Advisors fell 1.4 fils to 36 fils and Coast Investment Co trimmed 0.4 fil. Securities House Co was flat at 44.3 fils.

KAMCO rose 0.6 fil to 75 fils and KFIC gave up 0.3 fil. Aayan Investment Co added 0.7 fil and Bayan Investment Co fell 1.8 fils to 49.1 fils. Sokouk Holding took in 0.3 fil to end at 45.8 fils and Amwal Investment Co gave up 0.9 fil.

Noor Financial Investment Co ticked 0.2 fil up to 53.7 fils and Al Imtiaz Investment Co was up 2 fils at 164 fils. Kuwiat Insurance Co dipped 20 fils to 230 fils and Gulf Insurance Co gained 1.3 fil. Kuwait Real Estate Co inched 0.7 fil into green.

National Real Estate Co and Mazaya Holding were unchanged at 120 fils and 114 fils respectively. Al Mazaya Holding’s profits fell 0.88 pct in the second quarter to KD 2.26 million from Q2 of 2016. In the first half of 2017, profits grew 0.73 percent to KD 4.17 million.

The market was mixed during last week. The price index closed lower in three of the four sessions and added 20 pts week-on-week. It has shed 40 points from the start of the month and is trading 18.51 pct higher year-to-date. KSE, with 188 listed companies, is the second largest bourse in the region.

In the bourse related news, Kuwait International Bank has posted a 37.1% year-on-year drop in second quarter profits to KD 3.32 million from same period in 2016. In the January-June period, earnings stood at KD 10.92 million, down 8.9% from first half 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.

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.

Aqar Real Estate Investment’s second quarter profits surged 27 pct to KD 350,410 mln from same period last year helped by increase of rent revenues. The revenues rose 23.4 percent to KD 687,320 in the first half while operating revenues climbed 21.6 percent to KD 987,070.

National Real Estate’s (NREC) ordinary general meeting has approved raising its capital to KD 150 million, by issuing 1.5 billion shares at a nominal value of 100 fils each. The company’s current capital stands at KD 98.97 million.

Educational Holding Group has posted a 13 pct drop in profits in the quarter ended May 31, 2017. The profits totaled KD 1.14 million as against KD 1.31 million in the same period last year.

By John Mathews

Arab Times Staff

This news has been read 6836 times!