14/07/2017
9059 times read
14/07/2017
9059 times read
KUWAIT CITY, July 13: Kuwait stocks sagged on Thursday stemming the six-day winning streak. The bourse fell 6.04 pts to 6,788.48 points in volatile trade as profit taking dragged some of the shares lower. The overall mood was tepid as investors await more half yearly results. The KSX benchmark eased 0.93 pts to 922.29 points while weighted index inched 0.34 pts down to 404.62 points. The volume turnover meanwhile fell sharply after four-day rise. 50.2 million shares changed hands — a 49 pct tumble from last session. In the individual shares, Gulf Bank slipped 4 fils to 242 fils while National Investment Co clipped 2 fils. Mabanee Co dropped 10 fils to 759 fils taking the year’s losses to 91 fils. Humansoft Holding, the highest priced stock of the bourse, climbed 40 fils to KD 4.300 Zain fell 3 fils to 436 fils and Ooredoo extended last session’s losses with a 22 fils drop to KD 1.118. Kuwait Telecommunications Co (VIVA) climbed 10 fils to 822 fils and Agility gave up 4 fils to close at 791 fils. Kuwait Finance House fell 2 fils to 496 fils after trading 1.3 million shares and National Bank of Kuwait closed flat. The bank has recorded a profit of KD 79.33 mln in the April-June period , a 10.7% rise from Q2 2016. In the first half, profits grew 9.3 pct to KD 164.69 million. The market opened firm and edged higher in early trade. The main index fell sharply before clawing back and moved sideways. It climbed to hit the day’s highest level of 6,803.66 pts almost half way into the session and retreated thereafter. It bottomed at 6,756 pts before clawing back most of the losses at close. Top gainer of the day, Masaken jumped 15.3 pct to 75 fils and Energy Holding Co climbed 9.4 percent to stand next. Warba Insurance Co slumped 16.6 pct, the steepest decliner of the day and Gulf Petroleum Institute topped the volume with 5.4 million shares. National Industries Group rose 2 fils to 125 fils and Gulf Cable Co gained 13 fils to end at 433 fils. Heavy Engineering Industries and Shipbuilding Co was unchanged at 209 fils while Metal and Recycling Co was up 5 fils at 92 fils. Jazeera Airways gained 3 fils and ALAFCO climbed 13 fils to 334 fils extending Wednesday’s uptick. Boubyan Petrochemical Co took in 2 fils and Al Qurain Petrochemical gave up 4 fils to close at 338 fils. Kuwait Foundry Co jumped 22 fils to 280 fils whereas NICBM paused at 180 fils. Educational Holding Group was flat at 350 fils and KCPC added 5 fils to wind up at 155 fils partly recouping previous session’s losses. NAPESCO dropped 15 fils to KD 1.545 whereas Equipment Holding trimmed 1 fil. The company’s first quarter losses narrowed by 12.4 percent to KD 354,460 from KD 404,490 in Q1 of 2016. Automated Systems Co was flat at 184 fils. Combined Group Contracting Co and Burgan Well Drilling Co eased 1 fil each while OSOS was down 6 fils at 130 fils partly reversing last session’s gains. Al Rai Media Group dialed down 2 fils and Zimah Holding inched 0.1 fil into green Budge In the banking sector, Burgan Bank was flat at 333 fils and Kuwait International Bank too did not budge from its earlier close of 247 fils. Commercial Bank and Al Ahli Bank were not traded during the session. Warba Bank held ground at 263 fils and Boubyan Bank clipped 2 fils. The bank has posted a profit of KD 11.21 mln in the second quarter of 2017, up 14.3 pct year-on-year from same period last year. In the first half period the profits rose 15.7 pct to KD 21.87 million. KIPCO fell 1 fil to 347 fils and International Financial Advisors edged 1.7 fils higher to 34.7 fils. Kuwait Investment Co ticks 1 fil up and Coast Investment Co was unchanged at 40 fils. Securities House Co eased 0.1 fil. Sokouk Holding and KFIC were flat at 47.5 fils and 40 fils respectively while Arzan dialed up 1 fil. Al Madina took in 1.1 fils and Noor Financial Investment Co edged 0.5 fil into green. Al Deera Holding was up 0.4 fil at 32.4 fils. Tamdeen Investment Co and Al Imtiaz were unchanged at 300 fils and 167 fils respectively whereas Amwal trimmed 0.4 fil. Ektittab Holding rose 1.6 fils to 37.4 fils and Bayan Investment Co clipped 0.3 fil. First Takaful Insurance Co eased 1 fil to 52 fils. Kuwait Real Estate Co edged 0.9 fil higher to 57.9 fils and National Real Estate Co was up 3 fils at 120 fils on back of 1.9 million shares after eking modest gains in the day before. Tamdeen Real Estate Co stalled at 400 fils and Aqar dialed up 1 fil. Mazaya Holding stood pat at 114 fils and AREEC slid 16 fils to 140 fils. The market was largely buoyant during the week. The price index closed higher in four of the five sessions has gained 108 points week-on-week. It has rallied 125 points so far during the month and is trading 18.1 pct higher year-to-date. KSE, with 188 listed companies, is the second largest bourse in the region. In the bourse related news, 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. KAMCO has sold a controlling stake worth 25.3 million pounds in a British property leased to Amazon UK Services Ltd. The deal will results in a drop of 56 million pounds while and the liabilities will see a 56.5 million dip. Zima Holding is planning to list its shares on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM). The company has a capital of KD 10 million and the shareholders have approved the capital hike to KD 35 million. Educational Holding Group has posted a 13 pct drop in profits in the quarter ended 31 May 2017. The profits totaled KD 1.14 million as against KD 1.31 million in the same period last year. In the nine-month period ending May 30, the earnings grew 22 pct to KD 4.32m. S&P Global Ratings has affirmed “A-/A-2” long- and short-term counterparty credit ratings on Gulf Bank. The rating agency also revised its outlook on the bank to “positive” from “stable”. Tamdeen Real Estate has sold its stake in Fucom Central Markets for a total KD 2.27 million generating a estimated profit of KD 1.44 million. Shuaiba Industrial has logged a Q1 profit of KD 632,050 up 0.4% from KD 629,560 in the same period a year ago. In 2016, it recorded a 9.43% year-on-year rise in profits to KD 1.9 million. By John Mathews Arab Times Staff