KSE little changed after volatile trade – KIPCO falls 10 fils; Zain flat

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KUWAIT CITY, Oct 12: Kuwait stocks edged slightly lower on Wednesday as the market took a breather after the strong rebound in the last session. The price index fell 3.83 pts in volatile trading to 5,346.54 points even as the board remained broadly mixed.

The KSX 15 benchmark slipped 3.35 pts to 804.93 points taking the month’s losses to 10 pts while weighted index was down 3.83 pts. The volume turnover meanwhile was little changed as investors toed the sidelines. 36.4 million shares changed hands — a 1.06 pct fall from Tuesday.

Sectors closed mixed. Consumer goods outperformed the rest with 0.54 pct gain whereas basic materials shed 0.53 percent, the biggest loser of the day. Volume wise, financial services mustered the highest market share of 46.8 pct while real estate stood next with 22.72 percent.

In the individual shares, National Bank of Kuwait dropped 10 fils to KD 0.580 while Gulf Bank took in 2 fils to settle at 228 fils. Humansoft Holding slumped 60 fils to KD 1.500 and Kuwait Food Co (Americana) was not traded during the session.

Zain was unchanged at 340 fils and Wataniya Telecom (Ooredoo) too did not budge from its earlier close of KD 1.100 with razor thin volume. Kuwait Telecommunications Co (VIVA) climbed 10 fils to 880 fils whereas Agility added 5 fils to wind up at 475 fils.

Investment conglomerate KIPCO was down 10 fils at KD 0.510 and National Investments Company stood pat at 110 fils. The company has logged a net profit of KD 1.76 million and earnings per share of 2.10 fils in the six-month period ending June 30, 2016.

The market opened on tame note and moved sideways in early trade. The price index fell sharply thereafter amid a bout of selling and plumbed the day’s lowest level of 5,327.3 pts in the first half of the session. It clawed back and moved flat for nearly an hour before slipping back into a trough. It however pared back most of the losses in final minutes and closed nearly unchanged.

Top gainer of the day, Heavy Engineering Industries and Shipbuilding Co climbed 6.67 pct to 160 fils while Livestock Transport and Trading Co rose 4.5 pct to stand next. AGHC slumped 4.9 pct, the steepest decliner of the day and International Investors Holding Co topped the volume with 5.7 million shares.

Mirroring the day’s flat finish, the market spread was evenly poised. 27 stocks gained and an identical number of shares closed lower. Of the 103 counters active on Wednesday, 49 closed unchanged. 1,108 deals worth KD 2.93 million were transacted — a 9.63 pct drop in value from the day before.

National Industries Group, the flagship company of the Kharafi Group, took in 2 fils to settle at 110 fils while Gulf Cable rose 5 fils to 375 fils. Kuwait Portland Cement Co gained 10 fils and Shuaiba Paper Industries Co gave up 4 fils to close at 240 fils.

Down

Kuwait Foundry Co stood pat at 166 fils and Boubyan Petrochemical Company was down 10 fils at KD 0.460. Kuwait and Gulf Link Transport Co clipped 0.5 fil with thin volume.

ACICO Industries Co gained 10 fils and Jazeera Airways Co swung 10 fils into red. The airline has clocked a net profit of KD 5.99 million and earnings per share of 29.96 fils as compared to net profit of KD 6.21 million and earnings per share of 14.80 fils in HI of 2015.

Mezzan Holding Co was flat at KD 0.970 and The Energy House Co followed suit. The company has posted a first half net loss of KD 1.14 million and loss per share of 1.99 fils as compared to net loss of KD 963,435 and loss per share of 1.28 fils in H1 of 2015.

Zimah Holding paused at 39 fils and National Petroleum Services Co too did not budge from its earlier close of KD 0.780. The company has logged a net profit of KD 3.75 million and earnings per share of 67.49 fils in the first half of 2016.

In the banking sector, Kuwait Finance House stalled at 465 fils and Commercial Bank of Kuwait followed suit. The bank has registered a net profit of KD 11.50 million and earnings per share of 7.7 fils in the January- June period.

Ahli United Bank and Burgan Bank were unchanged at 385 fils and 320 fils whereas Ahli United Bank was not traded during the session. Boubyan Bank stood pat at 380 fils and Warba Bank too stagnated at 164 fils.

Kuwait Investment Co and Commercial Facilities clipped 2 fils each whereas International Financial Advisors inched 0.5 fil into red. Securities House Co and Securities Group Co stalled at 40 fils and 85 fils respectively whereas Coast Investment Co gave up 0.5 fil.

Noor Financial Investment Co nudged 0.5 fil higher to 39 fils while Sokouk Holding and Osoul Investment Co paused at 30 fils and 42 fils respectively. KMEFIC eased 1 fil to settle at 23 fils.

Tamdeen Investment Co slipped 10 fils to 300 fils and Ektittab Holding `Co fell 1.5 fils. Bayan Investment Co was up 0.5 fil at 31 fils.

National Real Estate Co took in 1 fil whereas Mabanee Co was unchanged at KD 0.800. Kuwait Real Estate Co inched 0.5 fil up and United Real Estate Co added 4 fils.

The market has been mixed so far during the week and has climbed 27 points in the last four sessions. It has slid 55 pts so far during the month and has shed 4.78 pct year-to-date. KSE, with 198 listed companies, is the second largest bourse in the region.

In the bourse related news, Hilal Cement Company has posted a net profit of KD 20.659 mln and earnings per share of 0.2 fils in the six-month period ending June 6, 2016 rebounding from a net loss of KD 95,105 and loss per share of 1.1 fil in the same period last year.

Metal and Recycling Co. clocked a net profit of KD 118,386 and earnings per share of 1.58 fils in the six-month period ending June 31,2016 rebounding from net loss of KD 185,711 and losses per share of 2.48 fils in same period last year.

Gulf Glass Manufacturing Company has registered a net profit of KD 941,711 and earnings per share of 18.35 fils in the six-month period ending June 30 as against a net profit of KD 1.39 million and earnings per share of 27.09 fils in the same period last year.

Asiya Capital Investments Company has clocked a net loss of KD 5.46 million and loss per share of 7.03 fils in the January-June period sliding from a net profit of KD 1.77 million and earnings per share of 2.29 fils in the same period last year.

Salhia Real Estate Company won the approval of Capital Markets Authority to buy back or sell a maximum of 10 percent of its shares for 6 months from date of the approval.

By John Mathews

Arab Times Staff

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