Kuwait stock mkt ticks higher in volatile trade – NIG rallies 7 fils; Agility drops

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KUWAIT CITY, Sep 19: Kuwait stocks ticked slightly up on Tuesday, stemming the three-day fall. The bourse added 2.43 pts in volatile session to close a 6982.80 pts even as the broader sentiment remained mixed. Most of the blue chips however ended in red.

The KSX 15 index dipped 6.17 pts to 1030.6 trimming month’s gains to 46 points while weighted index edged 1.41 points down. The volume turnover meanwhile saw a marginal rise for the second consecutive day. 166.3 million shares changed hands – up 4 pct from the day before.

The sectors closed narrowly mixed. Basic materials outshone the rest with 0.64 pct gain whereas insurance dipped 1.58 percent, the biggest loser of the day. Volume wise, financial services accounted for the highest market share of 42.5 pct and real estate trailed with 31.3 percent contribution.

In the individual shares, National Industries Group rallied 7 fils on back of over 20 million shares whereas National Bank of Kuwait extended last session’s losses with a 12 fils drop to 781 fils with a volume of over 6 million. KIPCO paused at 360 fils off early highs.

Zain fell 5 fils to 537 fils after trading 6.7 million shares and Ooredoo was down 6 fils at KD 1.189 with thin volume. Kuwait Telecommunications Co stood pat at 820 fils and Agility shed 20 fils.

Gulf Bank took in 2 fils and Al Ahli Bank followed suit. The bank has recorded a profit of KWD 7.7 million in April–June quarter , a 5.6 pct increase from second quarter of last year. During first half period, earnings rose 7.7 pct to KD 16.21 million.

The market opened wobbly and ticked up in early trade. The price index peaked at 6903 pts and drifted sideways before pulling sharply lower amid selling pressure. It plumbed the day’s lowest level of 6864 pts half way into the session and clawed back in the second half to close in the green turf.

Top gainer of the day, Madar Investment Co rallied 9.2 pct to 24.8 fils and Arab Real Estate Co climbed 6 pct to stand next. Wethaq Takaful Insurance Co slid 11.76 percent, the steepest decliner of the day and National Industries Group topped the volume with over 20 million shares.

Despite the day’s uptick, the losers outnumbered the winners. 47 stocks advanced whereas 54 closed lower. Of the 124 counters active on Tuesday, 23 closed flat. 4715 deals worth KD 25.7 million were transacted – a 23.4 pct surge in value from the day before.

Kuwait Foundry Co rose 3 fils to 305 fils and Kuwait Cement Co inched 1 fil higher to 464 fils. Gulf Cable shed 9 fils and Heavy Engineering Industries and Shipbuilding Co gave up 3 fils to end at 217 fils.

Equipment Holding Co was flat at 45.9 fils and and Educational Holding Group added 3 fils. Boubyan Petrochemical Co slipped 3 fils and Al Qurain Petrochemical Co climbed 7 fils to 348 fils. NICBM was up 8 fils at 190 fils.

NAPESCO fell 7 fils to 821 fils Human Soft Holding soared 50 fils. The company has recorded a 19.9 pct rise in second quarter profits to KD 6.03 million from Q2 of previous year.

Kuwait National Cinema Co ticked 1 fil into red and ACICO Indutries followed suit. UPAC held ground at 655 fils.

Combined Group Contracting Co dipped 6 fils to 509 fils and OSOS inched 1 fil lower. Kuwait and Gulf Links Transport Co dialed up 0.9 fil and Burgan Well Drilling Co trimmed 0.5 fil before closing at 82.5 fils.

ALAFCO took in 2 fils partly recouping Monday’s fall while Al Kout Industries was down 5 fils at 615 fils. Al Rai Media Group and Al Mezzan Holding paused at 124 fils and 851 fils respectively.

In the banking sector, Kuwait International Bank edged 1 fil higher and Burgan Bank gave up 3 fils to close at 367 fils. Warba Bank rose 3 fils to 259 fils after closing slightly in red on Monday.

Boubyan Bank climbed 3 fils to 454 fils whereas Commercial Bank, Kuwait Finance House and Al Mutahed were not traded during the session.

National Investment Co inched 1 fil higher to 112 fils and International Finance Co dialed up 0.8 fil on back of 4.9 million shares.

Al Mal Investment and Al Deera Holding paused at 34.9 fils and 33.7 fils respectively.

KFIC fell 0.3 fil to 49.5 fils while Bayan Investment Co and Unicap took in 0.1 fil each. Sokouk Holding was flat at 49.8 fils and Al Madina Investment Co clipped 2 fils. Noor Financial Investment Co added 1.4 fils and Tamdeen Investment Co slipped 65 fils to 305 fils.

Securities House Co trimmed 0.4 fil and Coast Investment Co inched 0.2 fil into green. Gulf Investmet House gave up 0.4 fil and Al Imtiaz ticked 1 fil higher. Ahleia Insurance Co climbed 10 fils to 430 fils.

United Real Estate XCo fell 4.9 fils to 95 fils and National Real Estate Co eased 1 fil to 144 fils after trading 3.5 million shares. Salhiya Real Estate Co paused at 360 fils and Mabanee Co was down 8 fils at 820 fils.Mazaya Holding dialed up 1 fil.

The market has tepid so far during the week and has dropped 23 points in last three sessions. It is unchanged from the start of the month and is trading 19.91 pct higher year-to-date. KSE, with 188 listed companies, is the second largest bourse in the region.

In the bourse related news, Aayan Leasing and Investment posted losses of KD 390,000 during the second quarter as against a loss of KD 235,000 in the same period last year. During the first half , the company’s earnings soared 544.2 percent year-on-year to KD 4.67 million

Kuwait Hotels’ second quarter profits jumped by 72.5 pct to KD 15,370 in as compared to KD 55,820 in the same period a year ago. During the first half of 2017, the earnings slid by 71.5 percent to KD 152,870 from the same period last year.

Kuwait Investment Co profits soared 158.3 percent to KD 2.97 million in the second quarter of 2017 from same period last year. In the January- June period, profits surged 283.6 pct year-on-year to KD 7.71 million.

Kuwait Real Estate Co’s net profits surged 51.2 pct year-on-year in the second quarter of 2017 to KD 1.49 million. In the first half , profits rose 10.5 percent to KD 3.16 million.

Mabanee Company posted a 1.55 pct rise in profits to KD 12.55 million for the second quarter from Q2 of previous year. In the first half , profits ticked 1 pct up to KD 24.61 million from corresponding period of 2016

Imtiaz Investment Group’s second quarter profits soared by a whopping 1,041 pct to KD 19.97 million from same period in 2016. During the first six months, profits surged 626.3% to KD 32.32 million.

By John Mathews

Arab Times Staff

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