Kuwait bourse edges up in lackluster trade – Humansoft Holding gains 20 fils; NBK flat

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KUWAIT CITY, Nov 3: Kuwait stocks pulled higher on Tuesday extending the advance to fourth consecutive session. The price index rose 9.45 pts in lackluster trade to 5,794.25 points helped by speculative buying in select counters. The banks remained mostly muted while other heavyweights closed mixed.

The KSX 15 benchmark slipped 3.32 pts to 923.17 points taking the year’s losses to 138 points while weighted index edged 0.99 pts lower. The volume turnover meanwhile surged close to the 200 million mark. 198.19 million shares changed hands — a 39.3 percent jump from the day before.

The sectors closed mostly in the green turf. Telecommunications outshone the rest with 0.75 pct gain whereas parallel market shed 1.21 percent the biggest loser of the day. In terms of volume, real estate accounted for the highest market share of 35.32 pct while financial services stood next with 30.19 percent. Industrials trailed behind with 18.9 pct contribution.

In the individual shares Mezzan Holding Co climbed 20 fils to KD 1.120 and Humansoft Holding too was up by same measure. Kuwait National Cinema Co jumped 30 fils whereas Kuwait Food Co (Americana) slid 40 fils to KD 2.269 erasing the gains in the last session.

Telecom major Zain fell 5 fils to KD 0.365 after trading over 1 million shares and Wataniya Telecom (Ooredoo) held the ground unchanged at KD 1.040. Kuwait Telecommunications Co (VIVA) was up 10 fils at KD 0.880 whereas Agility retreated 20 fils after trading 3.8 million shares.

Sector bellwether National Bank of Kuwait was unchanged at KD 0.820 and Kuwait International Bank followed suit. The bank has clocked a net profit of KD 11.75 million and earnings per share of 12.59 fils in the January — September period, up from net profit of KD 9.95 million and earnings per share of 10.66 fils in 9M of 2014.

The market opened flat and slipped briefly into red in early trade. The main index ticked up and moved sideways as investors toed caution before heading south past the mid-session. It bottomed at 5775.06 pts but managed to claw back into green at close.

Top gainer of the day, Metal and Recycling Co spiked 7.69 pct to 70 fils and KGL Logistics rallied 7.58 percent to stand next. Qurain Holding plunged 13.33 percent, the steepest decliner of the day and Al Dar National Real Estate Co topped the volume with 24.8 million shares.

Reflecting the day’s gain, the winners outnumbered the losers. 51 stocks advanced whereas 41 closed lower. Of the 141 counters active on Tuesday, 49 closed flat. 4500 deals worth KD 13.79 million were transacted — a 24.22 pct surge in value from the day before.

National Industries Group was unchanged at KD 0.144 while RISCO and MRC added 5 fils each. RISCO has registered a net profit of KD 3.22 million and earnings per share of 34.68 fils in the January-September period as compared to net profit of KD 2.92 million and earnings per share of 31.45 fils in the same period last year.

Steady

Gulf Cable held steady at KD 0.410 and ACICO Industries Co slipped 10 fils to KD 0.285. Equipment Holding Co ticked 1 fils higher and Burgan Well Drilling Co rose 4 fils to 97 fils. IFA Hotels and Resorts Co was down 10 fils to KD 0.126.

Nafais Holding Co rose 10 fils whereas Gulf Glass Manufacturing Co shed 10 fils to settle at KD 0.490. The company has posted a net profit of KD 59,392 and earnings per share of 0.22 fils in the nine-month period ending September 30, 2015

Jazeera Airways held steady at KD 0.480 off early lows while ALAFCO dialed up 2 fils to close at KD 0.224. Combined Group Contracting Co paused at KD 0.780 and Al Nawadi Holding Co closed 3 fils in red. Mezzan Holding Co climbed 20 fils to KD 1.120.

Kuwait and Gulf Link Transport Co rose 2.5 fils on back of 2.3 million shares and KGL Logistics Co added 5 fils to close at 71 fils. Kuwait Cement Co fell 5 fils to KD 0.370.

Zima Holding Co dialed up 3 fils and City Group Co gained 10 fils. The company has logged a net profit of KD 5.26 million and earnings per share of 46.56 fils in the nine-month period ending Sept 30, 2015 up from net profit of KD 4.15 million and earnings per share of 36.75 fils in the first nine-months of 2014

In the banking sector, Gulf Bank was unchanged at KD 0.270 and Al Ahli Bank too held the ground steady at KD 0.375. Ahli United Bank shed 10 fils whereas Commercial Bank of Kuwait was not traded during the session.

Burgan Bank was flat at KD 0.400 off early lows and Kuwait Finance House followed suit to settle at KD 0.560. Boubyan Bank stagnated at KD 0.435 and Warba Bank too paused at KD 0.208.

National Investment Co took in 2 fils and KIPCO was unchanged at KD 0.580. The company has recorded a nine-month net profit of KD 37.24 million and earnings per share of 22.33 f ils in the first nine-months of 2015.

Securities Group climbed 8 fils and Kuwait Financial Centre took in 2 fils. Bayan Investment Co and Osoul Investment Co inched 0.5 fils higher and Sokouk Holding Co closed flat.

The bourse has been upbeat so far during the week and has climbed 18 points in last three sessions. It had gained 47 points during whole of October and is trading 11.34 pct lower year-to-date. KSE, with 213 listed companies, is the second largest bourse in the region.

In the bourse related news, Hilal Cement Company has incurred a net loss of KD 117,151 and loss per share of 1.5 fils in the nine-month period ending September 31, 2015 narrowing from net loss of KD 2,82,090 and loss per share of 3.7 fils in the year before period.

Aayan Real Estate Co has recorded a net profit of KD 1.09 million and earnings per share of 2.6 fils in the January-September period down from net profit of KD 2.58 million and earnings per share of 6.2 fils in 9M 2014.

Future Communications Co Global has posted a net profit of KD 732,998 and earnings per share of 9.05 fils in the first nine-months of 2015, up from net profit of KD 635,355 and earnings per share of 7.84 fils in the same period of last year.

The Energy House Co has logged a net loss of KD 668,888 and losses per share 0.892 fils in the nine-month period ending September 30, 2015 narrowing from a net loss of KD 2.21 million and losses per share of 2.947 fils in the same period last year.

Warba Bank has recorded a net profit of KD 1.25 million and earnings per share 1.25 fils in the first nine-months of the year as compared to net profit of KD 318,000 and earnings per share of 0.32 fils in the 9M of 2014.

By John Mathews – Arab Times Staff

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