Kuwaiti stocks retreat as sentiment weakens – Ooredoo dips 20 fils; NBK gains

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KUWAIT CITY, Nov 14: Kuwait stocks swung lower on Monday after trading flat in the day before. The price index, after a strong start closed 11.77 pts down at 5,469.35 points as sentiment turned weak. Some of the banks shone while other heavyweights remained subdued.

The KSX 15 benchmark rose 1.08 pts to 859.99 points taking the month’s gains to 33 points while weighted index inched 0.18 pts into green. The volume turnover meanwhile shrank for the second straight session after hitting a multi-month high on Thursday. 19.27 million shares changed hands — a 30 pct drop from Sunday.

The sectors closed mostly in the red. Real estate outperformed the rest with 0.26 percent rise whereas financial service slipped 0.94 pct, the biggest loser of the day. In terms of volume, financial services logged the highest market share of 37 pct and real estate followed with 28.7 pct contribution.

Among the day’s notable performers, National Bank of Kuwait rallied 10 fils to 630 fils on back of 4.7 million shares and Commercial Bank of Kuwait followed suit to wind up at 400 fils. Tamdeen Real Estate Co shed 15 fils and Kuwait Hotels Co slid 35 fils to 265 fils.

Zain fell 5 fils to 405 fils and Wataniya Telecom ( Ooredoo) dipped 20 fils to KD 1.080 with thin trading. Kuwait Telecommunications Co (VIVA) was down 10 fils at KD 0.850 and logistics major Agility stood pat at 520 fils.

Kuwait Finance House was unchanged at 510 fils off early highs and Ahli United Bank gave up 5 fils to close at 405 fils. The bank has registered a net profit of KD 39.13 mln and earnings per share of 25.1 fil in the first nine months of the year.

The market opened firm and headed north in early trade. The main index scaled the day’s highest level of 5,486.98 points almost an hour into the session and retreated thereafter. It continued to slide as sentiment turned sour and bottomed at 5,455.6 pts in the final minutes before paring back some of the losses at close.

Top gainer of the day, Marakez spiked 7.94 pct to 34 fils while Tahssilat climbed 7.68 percent to stand next. Kuwait Hotels dived 11.6 percent, the steepest decliner of the day and Securities House Co topped the volume with over 1 million shares.

Mirroring the day’s downswing, the market spread was skewed towards the losers. 38 stocks advanced whereas 45 closed lower. Of the 130 counters active on Monday, 47 closed flat. 3,233 deals worth KD 11.9 million were transacted — a 31 pct drop in value from the day before.

National Industries Group eased 2 fils to 112 fils and Gulf Cable was up 5 fils at 380 fils. Kuwait Portland Cement Co gained 10 fils while Kuwait Cement Co gave up 5 fils to end at 390 fils. Boubyan Petrochemical Co rose 5 fils to 475 fils.

Kuwait Food Co (Americana) continued to stagnate at KD 2.620 and ALAFCO held the ground at 214 fils. FutureKid climbed 8 fils to 114 fils and UPAC was up 10 fils at 700 fils. Kuwait Gulf Link Transport Co inched 0.5 fil higher and KGL Logistics clipped 2 fils to end at 75 fils.

Added

Independent Petroleum Group was flat at 350 fils and Jeeran Holding Co added 3 fils. The company has logged a net profit of KD 431,750 and earnings per share of 3.17 fils in the first nine-month of 2016 up sharply from net profit of KD 177,518 and earnings per share of 1.30 fils in the 9M of 2015.

Kuwait Foundry Co dipped 6 fils and RISCO was dowb 5 fils at 310 fils. The company has posted a net profit of KD 4.64 million and earnings per share of 47.37 fils in the nine-month period ending Sept 30, 2016 as against a net profit of KD 3.22 million and earnings per share of 32.39 fils in the same period of 2015.

Mezzan Holding Co was unchanged at KD 0.970 while Zimah Holding Co and AWJ eased 1.5 fils each to 41.5 fils and 45 fils respectively. Al Qurain Petrochemical Co paused at 210 fils and Al Rai Media Group too did not budge from its earlier close of 138 fils.

In the banking sector, Gulf Bank dialed up 2 fils partly recouping Sunday’s drop while Al Ahli Bank rose 5 fils to 310 fils. Burgan Bank stagnated at 320 fils and Boubyan Bank slipped 5 fils to 320 fils. Warba Bank dipped 8 fils to 214 fils extending the fall in the last session.

Investment major KIPCO was unchanged at 500 fils and National Investment Co followed suit to settle at 104 fils. Commercial Facilities Co added 4 fils and International Financial Advisors gave up 1 fil after trading 1.1 million shares.

Bayan Investment Co and KFIC clipped 0.5 fils each and Housing Finance Co (Iskan) gave up 2 fils. Ektittab Holding rose 1.5 fils and Sokouk Holding stood pat at 32 fils. Al Mal Investment Co and Aayan Real Estate Co paused at 18 fils and 27 fils respectively.

Kuwait Real Estate Co rose 3 fils on back of over 4 million shares while United Real Estate Co and National Real Estate Co eased 1 fil each. Mabanee Co stalled at 820 fils and Mazaya Holding Co took in 2 fils.

The market has been mixed so far during the week and has shed 18 points in last two sessions . The price index has rallied 61 points from start of the month but is down 2.6 pct year-to-date. KSE, with 208 listed companies, is the second largest bourse in the region.

In the bourse related news, Shuaiba Industrial Co has recorded a net profit of KD 1.66 million and earnings per share of 20.94 fils in 2016, 9M up from net profit of KD 1.33 mln and earnings per share of 16.83 fils in same period of 2015.

Aqar Real Estate Investments Co has registered a net profit of KD 923,223 and earnings per share of 4.34 fils in the January-September period down from net profit of KD 1.72 million and EPS of 7.63 fils in the 9M of 2015.

Jeeran Holding Co. has logged a net profit of KD 431,750 and earnings per share of 3.17 fils in the first nine-month of 2016 up sharply from net profit of KD 177,518 and earnings per share of 1.30 fils in the 9M of 2015.

Kuwait Building Materials Mfg. has registered a net profit of KD 159,204 and earnings per share of 5.3 fils in the January-September period as against net profit of KD 363,059 and earnings per share of 12 fils in the same period last year.

Hilal Cement Company has logged a net loss of KD 3,709 and loss per share of 0.04 fils in the January-September period of 2016 narrowing from a net loss of KD 117,151 and LPS of 1.39 fils in same period in 2015.

By John Mathews

Arab Times Staff

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