Kuwait Bourse Slips As Sentiment Soggy

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KUWAIT CITY, Sept 29: Kuwait stocks sagged Tuesday reversing the marginal gains in the last session. The price index retreated 13.1 points to 5751.2 points as sentiment turned soggy. Most of the banks shone while other heavyweights closed mixed.

The KSX 15 benchmark climbed 11.28 pts to 939.8 points trimming the month’s losses to 80 points while weighted index added 3.36 pts. The volume turnover meanwhile shrank as investors towed caution. 134.40 million shares changed hands – a 32.26 percent drop from the previous session.

The sectors closed mostly in red. Basic materials outperformed the peers with over 2 percent gain whereas technology shed 1.48 pct, the biggest loser of the day. In terms of volume, financial services accounted for the highest market share of 31.5 pct while real estate and telecommunications followed with 24.6 percent and 20 pct contributions respectively.

Among the notable movers, National Bank of Kuwait rose 10 fils to KD 0.800 partly recouping the loss in the last session while Commercial Bank of Kuwait extended its gains with a 20 fils climb. Kuwait Food Co (Americana) spiked 60 fils with thin trading after getting hammered on Tuesday.

Zain rose 10 fils to KD 0.405 on back of 5.6 million shares and Wataniya Telecom (Ooredoo) was up by same measure to end at KD 1.000. Kuwait Telecommunication Co (VIVA) gave up 10 fils and logistics major Agility followed suit to close at KD 0.570.

Jazeera Airways held steady at KD 0.460 and ALAFCO ticked 2 fils higher. The company has clocked a net profit of KD 13.4 million for the nine-month period ending June 30, 2015.

The earnings per share came in at 16.3 fils and company’s total revenues reached KD 47.7 million.

The market opened weak and edged lower in early trade. The main gauge showed a brief uptick before drifting south again amid dull sentiment. It plumbed the day’s lowest level of 5,735.37 pts but managed to claw back some of the losses at close.

Top gainer of the day, Sultan Centre Food Products Co climbed 6.25 pct to 85 fils while FACIL was up 5.32 pct to stand next. Al Eid Food Co slid over 9 percent, the steepest decliner of the day and Itthmar topped the volume with 16.9 million shares.

Reflecting the day’s drop, the losers outnumbered the winners. 37 stocks advanced whereas 44 closed lower. Of the 130 counters active on Tuesday, 49 closed flat. 3,245 deals worth KD 14.61 million were transacted – a 15.89 pct increase in value from the day before.

National Industries Group, the flagship company of Kharafi Group, was unchanged at KD 0.146 and Gulf Cable too did not budge from its earlier close of KD 0.435. Zima Holding dialed down 2 fils after trading over 2 million shares.

Kuwait Portland Cement gained 20 fils and Kuwait Foundry Co closed 8 fils higher to KD 0.186. Kout Food Group sank 40 fils to KD 0.540 and Yiaco Medical Co pulled 8 fils lower.

ACICO Industries Co rose 5 fils whereas Mezzan Holding Co swung 20 fils higher. The company has logged a net profit of KD 12.49 million and earnings per share of 42.13 fils in the January-June period of 2015.

Jumped

Boubyan Petrochemicals Co jumped 15 fils and Kuwait Cable Vision Company inched 0.5 fils higher. The company has clocked a net profit of KD 211,173 and earnings per share of 7.04 fils in the 6-month period ending June 30, 2015 as compared to net loss of KD 117,759 and loss per share of 3.93 fils.

Kuwait and Gulf Link Transport Co was flat at 44 fils and KGL Logistics Co inched 1 fils down after trading over 1 million shares. Mashaer Holding Co dialed up 3 fils and Kuwait Resorts Co nudged 2 fils into green.

National Real Estate Co was unchanged at 79 fils and Mabanee Company followed suit. The company has recorded a net profit of KD 24.31 million and earnings per share of 28.77 fils as against net profit of KD 24.49 million and earnings per share of 28.99 fils in H1, 2014.

National Investment Co paused at 112 fils off early lows and KIPCO followed suit. The company has recorded a first half profit of KD 25.4 million- a 17 pct increase from same period of the previous year.

Kuwait Investment Co was steady at KD 0.106 while Bayan Investment Co and Sokouk Holding Co eased 0.5 fils each. Noor Financial Investment and Ettitab Holding were unchanged at 63 fils and 34 fils respectively.

KMEFIC dialed up 0.5 fils and Al Madina For Finance and Investment Co took in 1 fils with brisk trading. Jeeran Holding paused at 53 fils.

In the banking sector, Gulf Bank added 5 fils on back of 4.9 million shares and Al Ahli Bank gained 10 fils whereas Ahli United Bank was unchanged at KD 0.530. Boubyan Bank rose 5 fils to KD 0.410.

Kuwait International Bank held steady at KD 0.228 and Kuwait Finance House gained 4 fils with a volume of over 1 million . Burgan Bank fell 5 fils to KD 0.385 and Warba bank dialed up 2 fils to settle at 210 fils.

The bourse has been mixed so far during the week and has given up 3 points in last two sessions. It has slid 69 points from the start of the month and has shed 12 pct year-to-date. KSE, with 213 listed companies, is the second largest bourse in the region.

In the bourse related news, Kuwait Real Estate Company has registered a net profit of KD 2.39 million and earnings per share of 2.64 fils in the first six-months of 2015 as against net profit of KD 3.49 million and earnings per share same of 3.86 fils in the same period last year.

Gulf Cement Company has posted a net profit of KD 2.45 million and earnings per share of 0.003 fils in the first half of 2015, down from KD 3.36 million net profit and earnings per share of 0.004 fils in the same period last year.

Al Dar National Real Estate Co has incurred a net loss of KD 132,850 and loss per share of 0.32 fils in the six-month period ending June 30, 2015 as against net profit of KD 761,352 and earnings per share of 1.85 fils in the same period of 2014.

Metal and Recycling Co has incurred a net loss of KD 126,449 and losses per share of 2.48 fils in the January-June period of 2015 as compared to net profit of KD 615,409 and earnings per share of 6.76 fils in 2014, H1.

Aayan Leasing and Investment Company has clocked a net profit of KD 5.42 million and earnings per share of 6.76 fils in the six-months period ending June 30, 2015, down from net profit of KD 8.88 million and earnings per share of 11.07 fils in the H1 of 2014.

By John Mathews

Arab Times Staff

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