Kuwait stocks climb 4.6 pts; volume rises – Americana slips 20 fils; NBK gains 10 fils

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Traders seen on the floor of the Kuwait Stock Exchange. The bourse rose 4.6 points on Thursday.
Traders seen on the floor of the Kuwait Stock Exchange. The bourse rose 4.6 points on Thursday.

KUWAIT CITY, July 14: Kuwait stocks nudged higher on Thursday to wind up the week on a firm note. The price index climbed 4.6 points in a sluggish trade to 5,390.7 points. The banks and some blue chips closed mixed.

The KSX-15 benchmark edged 0.17 points up to 797.63 points whereas the weighted index rose 0.35 points. The volume turnover meanwhile continued to rise for a fourth consecutive session this week. 71.96 million shares changed hands, a 9.19 percent rise from Wednesday.

The sectors closed mostly in the positive turf during the session. Technology outshone the rest for a second day in a row with 2.12 percent while oil and gas dropped 0.63 percent to close the session as the steepest decliner. In terms of volume, financial services notched the highest market share of 30.14 percent whereas telecommunications trailed closely behind with 27.19 contribution.

Among the notable movers, Automated Systems Co spiked 20 fils to KD 0.385 whereas Agility added 5 fils to close at KD 0.475. Jazeera Airways and Mezzan Holding advanced 20 fils each. Mezzan Holding Co has reported a net profit of KD 5.19 million and earnings per share of 16.68 fils in the quarter ending March 31, 2016 as against net profit of KD 5.45 million and earnings per share of 17.52 fils in the same period last year.

Kuwait Food Co (Americana) bucked the trend as it slipped 20 fils whereas Kuwait Portland Cement Co followed suit to settle at KD 0.940. ACICO Industries Co added 10 fils buoyed by the announcement to start, effective July 31, 2016, distribution of grant shares for financial year 2015 over registered shareholders as of July 17, 2016 at Kuwait Clearing Company.

Umm Al-Qaiwain General Investments Co surged 7.14 percent to end as top gainer of the day and Kuwait Real Estate Holding Co stood next with 6.82 percent jump. Credit Rating & Collection eroded 5.49 percent, the worst performer of the day. The heaviest-traded stock Hits Telecom Holding Co dived 1.25 percent on the back of 18.6 million shares.

The market opened on a tame note and moved sideways in early trade. The price index continued to trade flat as investors toes with caution and dived in negative territory past the mid-session. The bourse hits the day’s low level of 5,368.1 points before clawing back into green zone at close.

The banking sector saw modest rebound as heavyweight National Bank of Kuwait climbed 10 fils to KD 0.570 after trading 3.6 million shares whereas Commercial Bank of Kuwait extended its losses with a drop 10 fils to close at KD 0.390. Al-Ahli Bank of Kuwait rose 5 fils partly erasing its losses in the last session and Boubyan Bank was down by the same amount.

Kuwait Finance House tumbled 10 fils on the back of over 2 million shares while Kuwait International Bank eased 2 fils. Gulf Bank and Burgan Bank closed flat at KD 0.230 and KD 0.325 respectively. Warba Bank gained 2 fils but Ahli United Bank did not budge from its earlier close of KD 0.395.

First Investment Co shed 2 fils whereas Bayan Investment Co was up 1.5 fils and Kuwait Projects stagnated at KD 0.500. Kuwait Investment Co edged 1 fils up whereas Commercial Facilities Co closed flat and International Financial Advisors barely moved with over 1.8 million shares. First Takaful Insurance Co rose 2 fils to pare losses in the last session.

The market was skewed toward the losers as 42 shares closed lower and 37 stocks gained. Of the 115 counters active on Thursday, 36 closed flat. 1,985 deals worth KD 7.3 million were transacted, a 4.24 percent decline in value from the last session.

In the real estate sector, Tamdeen Real Estate Co soared 10 fils to settle at KD 0.560 whereas United Real Estate Co and National Real Estate Co slipped 4 fils and 2 fils respectively. Meanwhile, Commercial Real Estate Co inched 1 fils up while Mabanee Co and Al-Mazaya Holding Co did not budge from their earlier close of 760 fils and 118 fils respectively.

National Industries Co gave up 2 fils and Kuwait Cement Co was down 5 fils. Refrigeration Ind and Storage Co resume trading with 5 fils leapt whereas Gulf Cable and Electrical Ind Co rose by the same amount. Heavy Engineering Ind and Shipbuilding Co dipped 2 fils and National Industries Group followed suit. National Industries Group has recorded a first quarter profit of KD 386,000 and earnings per share of 0.3 fils as against net profit of KD 5.91 million and earnings per share of 4.5 fils in the same period last year.

Kuwait Telecommunications Co (VIVA) gained 10 fils erasing the losses in the last session while Mobile Telecommunications Co (Zain) and National Mobile Telecommunications Co (Ooredoo) shares closed flat at KD 0.335 and KD 1.140 in this session.

Boubyan Petrochemicals Co jumped 5 fils and Qurain Petrochemicals Co added 2 fils to close at 198 fils. Sultan Centre Food Products Co edged 3 fils higher. AWJ Holding Co was up 3 fils and Oula Fuel Marketing Co added 2 fils. Alrai Media Group Co stagnated at 156 fils.

ALAFCO Aviation Lease And Finance rose 2 fils. ALAFCO announced a net profit of KD 9.9 million ($32.9 million) for the first nine months of the fiscal year ending 30 September, 2016. Vice Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of ALAFCO Ahmad A. Alzabin said in a press release, the company is on track in the implementation of its strategy through sale and lease-back operations and through acquisition of aircraft with lease attached. Additionally, the company has contracted with Boeing and Airbus to acquire 117 new aircraft valued at $14.9 billion to be delivered between 2017 and 2021. ALAFCO aims to have a fleet of more than 100 aircraft by the end of the decade, in order to position itself amongst the world’s top aircraft leasing companies.

The market was mixed during the week. The key index advanced in three of the five sessions and has gained 1.1 points week-on-week. However, it has gained 26.13 points from the start of the month but down 4 percent year-to-date. KSE, with 190 listed companies, is the second largest bourse in the region.

By Iliasu Abubakari

Arab Times Staff

 

This news has been read 6171 times!

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