Kuwait’s bourse ‘stems’ 3-day fall; volume soars – Agility spikes 35 fils; CBK gains

This news has been read 6910 times!

Kuwait City, Sept 27: Kuwait’s bourse stemmed a three-day decline on Wednesday as investor sentiment positive ahead of FTSE decision to upgrade Kuwait to emerging market. The price index gained 4.04 points in a slightly volatile trade to 6,768.74 points.

The KSX-15 benchmark rose 7.29 points to 1002.18 points while the weighted index edged up 3.16 points. The volume turnover meanwhile rebounded as 118.18 million shares changed hands, a 32 percent gain from the last session.

The sectors diverged during the session. Consumer goods outshone the rest with 1.66 percent while consumer services shed 2.06 percent to end the day as the worst  performing sector. In terms of volume, financial services notched the highest market share of 46.3 percent whereas real estate and banks trailed far behind with 20.99 and 16.37 contributions respectively.

Among the notable movers, Agility vaulted 35 fils to KD 0.906 with over 2 million shares while Gulf Cable and Electrical Industries Co and Kuwait Portland and Cement Co gained 9 fils each to KD 0.519 and KD 1.010 respectively.  Combined Group Contracting Co was down 4.28 percent whereas KGL Logistics Co slipped 0.19 percent on the back of 2.2 million shares.

The market opened on a tame note and moved sideways in early trade. The price index continued to search for direction in a slightly volatile trading. The bourse hits the day’s low level of 6,740.04 points before recovering in the final moments with slight gains.

Tamdeen Investment Co surged 14.75 percent to end as top gainer of the day First Takaful Insurance Co stood next with 11.29 percent gain to settle at 69 fils. Jiyad Holding Co plummeted 19.88 percent to end the session as the  steepest decliner of the day. The heaviest-traded stock Privatization Holding Co did not budge from its earlier close of  60 fils. The banking sector closed mostly positive as Commercial Bank of Kuwait spiked 35 fils and National Bank of Kuwait stagnated at KD 0.765 after trading over 2 million shares. Al-Ahli Bank of Kuwait rose 8 fils.  Ahli United Bank and Kuwait International Bank gained 5 fils and 2 fils respectively.

Kuwait Finance House advanced 9 fils and Gulf Bank closed flat on the back of nearly 6 million shares. Burgan Bank was down 4 fils and Warba Bank gained by the same amount. Boubyan Bank rose 2 fils to stand at 441 fils with thin trading.

Reflecting the day’s upswing, the winners outnumbered the losers as 55 stocks advanced whereas 49 closed lower. Of the 125 counters active on Wednesday, 21 closed flat. 4,222 deals worth KD 20.33 million were transacted, a 34.22 percent gain in value from the last session.

In the individual shares, Kuwait Investment Co dipped 1 fil whereas Commercial Facilities Co rose 3 fils to 189 fils. Markaz added 8 fils to KD 0.109 while National Investment Co was up 1 fil. Securities House Co gained 3.1 fils and Kuwait Projects Co inched up 2 fils to stand at KD 0.352

Zain advanced 1.37 percent on the back of over 7 million shares to boost the telecom stocks. VIVA slipped 2 fils while Ooredoo was down 1 fil. AAN Digital Services Co barely budged after trading 2.5 million shares during this session. National Industries Co jumped 10.47 percent whereas KAMCO lost 7 fils and EYAS plummeted 48 fils, partly erasing its gains in the previous session. Metal and Recycling Co dived 9.09 percent to 100 fils while Wethaq Insurance Co sank 2.27 percent.

Real estate sector shares were mostly muted as National Real Estate Co stayed flat at KD 0.140 on the back of over 3 million shares whereas Massaleh Real Estate Co dropped 9.31 percent. Meanwhile, Mabanee lost 4 fils and Al Tijaria dipped 0.93 percent after trading over 2 million shares. Al Mazaya Holding Co was up 1 fil while Munshaat Real Estate Projects Co and Real Estate Trade slipped 2.54 percent and 3.76 percent respectively.

Mezzan Holding Co spiked 25 fils and Kuwait Foundry Co rose 4 fils while Qurain Petrochemicals Co and Boubyan Petrochemicals Co lost 4 fils and 1 fil respectively. Livestock Transport and Trading Co added 9 fils to settle at 279 fils and Kuwait Food Co did not budge from its earlier close of KD 1.980.

The market has been down so far during the week and has tripped 84.41 points in the last three sessions. However, it has gained 127.41 points from the start of the month but down 17.7 percent year-to-date.  KSE, with 188 listed companies, is the second largest bourse in the region.

By Iliasu Abubakari – Arab Times Staff

This news has been read 6910 times!