Kuwait index ticks up after four-day decline – Commercial Bank dips 25 fils; Zain gains

This news has been read 6022 times!

KUWAIT CITY, Aug 23: Kuwait stocks nudged higher on Tuesday stemming the four-day retreat. The key index rose 5.66 pts in listless trading to 5,448.86 points helped by renewed buying in select counters. The board however remained broadly mixed.

The KSX 15 gauge climbed 5.25 points to 815.8 pts taking the month’s gains to 5 points while weighted index inched 1.29 points into green. The volume turnover meanwhile bounced after plumbing a 2-week low in the last session. 55.9 million shares changed hands — a 33 pct jump from Monday.

The sectors closed mostly in the green zone. Healthcare outshone the rest with 0.90 pct gain whereas telecommunications sank 1.27 percent, the biggest loser of the day. In terms of volume, financial services garnered the highest market share of 52 pct while real estate and banks trailed far behind with 16 pct and 12 percent contributions respectively.

In the individual shares, sector bellwether National Bank of Kuwait climbed 20 fils to KD 0.600 and Commercial Bank of Kuwait was up 5 fils at KD 0.320. KIPCO stood pat at KD 0.550 and Kuwait Food Co (Americana) followed suit to wind up at KD 2.460.

Zain pulled up from slight early losses to close flat at KD 0.335 whereas Wataniya Telecom (Ooredoo) dropped 20 fils to KD 1.000 taking the month’s losses to 180 fils. Kuwait Telecommunications Co (VIVA) slipped 10 fils to KD 0.920 and logistics major Agility paused at KD 0.480 off early lows.

Gulf Bank eased 2 fils to 226 fils and Kuwait Finance House continued to stagnate at KD 0.465. KFH has posted a net profit of KD 70.87 million and earnings per share of 13.74 fils in the first six-months of 2016.

The market opened on a tame note and drifted slightly lower in early trade. The price index hit the day’s lowest level of 5,433.11 points and ticked up to move along the rim. It continued to trade sideways before closing with marginal gains.

Top gainer of the day, Al Mal Investment Co vaulted 12.2 percent to 23 fils and counter also topped the volume with 10.8 million shares. MENA Holding stood next with 7.32 pct gain whereas Jeeran Holding slumped 6.8 pct, the steepest decliner of the day.

Mirroring the day’s uptick, the winners slightly outnumbered the losers. 32 stocks advanced whereas 28 closed lower. Of the 113 counters active on Tuesday, 53 closed flat. 1,380 deals worth over KD 6 million were transacted — a 24.8 pct drop in value from the day before.

National Industries Group, the flagship company of the Kharafi Group, was flat at 116 fils and Gulf Cable too did not budge from its earlier close of KD 0.380. Kuwait Foundry Co too was muted at 164 fils while HEISCO clipped 2 fils to end at 166 fils.

ALAFCO fell 2 fils to 214 fils and Jazeera Airways Co shed 10 fils. The airline has clocked a first half 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.

Kuwait and Gulf Link Transport Co dialed down 1 fils and KGL Logistics Company gave up 2 fils. The company has posted a net profit of 30, 2016 KD 3.76 million and earnings per share of 6.36 fils in the first half of 2016.

ACICO Industries Co was unchanged at KD 0.290 and Safwan Trading and Contracting Co gained 15 fils. Gulf Petroleum Investment Co and Zima Holding took in 0.5 fils each whereas Mezzan Holding stagnated at KD 1.060.

United Projects Group climbed 10 fils to KD 0.720 and AWJ was up 2 fils at 69 fils. Al Mowasat Healthcare Co fell 2 fils to 200 fils.

NICBM rose 10 fils to 204 fils and Kuwait National Cinema Company followed suit. The company has posted a net profit of KD 4.93 million and earnings per share of 52.35 fils as against a net profit of KD 5.98 million and earning per share of 62.65 fils in the same period last year.

In the banking sector, Ahli United Bank slipped 5 fils to 380 fils while Kuwait International Bank and Burgan Bank held the ground at 192 fils and 330 fils respectively.

Boubyan Bank stood pat at KD 0.380 after trading 4.6 million shares and Warba Bank too did not budge from its earlier close of 170 fils. Al Ahli Bank was not traded during the session.

Kuwait Investment Co inched 1 fils up with thin volume and National Investment Co dialed up 2 fils. International Financial Advisors was flat at 33 fils after trading 1.2 million shares and KIPCO followed suit. Securities Group and KFIC eased 0.5 fils each while Bayan Investment Co closed 0.5 fils higher.

Ektittab Holding Co and Noor Financial Investment Co added 0.5 fils each whereas Securities House Co paused at 47 fils. Sokouk Holding was muted at 35 fils and Kuwait Insurance Co followed suit.

National Real Estate Co and United Real Estate Co were flat at 78 fils and 100 fils respectively whereas Mabanee Co too did not budge from its earlier close of KD 0.800. Al Mazaya Holding Co stood pat at 114 fils.

The market has been largely downbeat so far during the week and has shed 23 pts in last three sessions. It has eased 2 points from start of the month but is down 2.96 pct year-to-date. KSE, with 190 listed companies, is the second largest bourse in the region.

In the bourse related news, 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.

National Petroleum Services Co has logged a net profit of KD 3.75 million and earnings per share of 67.49 fils in the first half of 2016 as against a net profit of KD 3.46 million and earnings per share 61.93 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

This news has been read 6022 times!