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Nov 23 2011

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KSE index treads water amid skittish sentiments

Gulf Bank gains 20 fils; Agility up 5 fils
KUWAIT CITY: Kuwait stocks trod water Wednesday after posting modest rebound in the day before. The index inched 1.5 points up in choppy trade led by some of the mid and low priced stocks even as heavyweights closed mixed. The sentiments were skittish amid the political unrest and weakness in the regional and global markets. The bourse wound up at 5,798.20 points, while the weighted index slipped 0.3 points to 407.04. The volume turnover sagged after increasing in the last two sessions. 134.11 million shares changed hands - down 29.9 percent from Tuesday. Trading has been anemic so far during the month and had dipped to a multi-month low of 38.66 million on Sunday. Among prominent movers, Gulf Bank rose 20 fils to KD 0.520 on back of 4.73 million shares while Kuwait Finance House was up 10 fils at KD 0.900. Sector bellwether National Bank of Kuwait however held the ground unchanged at KD 1.140 with a volume of 1.58 million shares.

Wataniya Telecom dived 40 fils to KD 1.900 paring deeper losses earlier in the day, while Zain eased 10 fils to KD 0.900 . The court verdict on the validity of Zain's April annual general meeting is expected on Dec 28. In September, a court upheld a case filed by former board member who opposed the process to elect the board. Agility crept 5 fils higher to KD 0.380 on back of 1.5 million shares whereas Kuwait Gulf Links edged 2 fils lower to KD 0.102. The stock has shed 8 fils so far during the month and is trading 54 fils lower year-to-date. In notable gainers, Kuwait Food Co (Americana) climbed 20 fils to KD 1.500 and Combined Group Contracting Co followed suit to wind up at KD 1.380. IFA Hotels and Resorts rose 10 fils and ALAFCO gained 5 fils with a volume turnover of 1.56 million shares.

Higher
The market opened positive and nudged higher in early trade. The index peaked at 5805.9 points but retreated thereafter as sentiments weakened. It hit the day's lowest level of 5785.6 points and traded range bound before clawing back in the second half to close in the green.

"The political situation in Kuwait is pretty serious at the moment," Reuters quoted Nawaf Al Refaie, deputy chief executive at Ahli Capital Investment Co."Investors are now terrified by the recent unrest which affected the market, not just in terms of percentage loss but also in terms of valuations, volumes and overall liquidity.

Top gainer of the day, National Investment Holding Co spiked 42.85 percent to 50 fils while Oula Fuel Marketing climbed 8.3 percent to stand next. Al Ahleia Holding slid 12.5 percent, the steepest decliner of the day, while Safat Energy topped the volume with 20.9 million shares changing hands.

Despite the meager gains, the losers outnumbered the gainers. 28 stocks advanced while 38 closed lower. Of the 98 counters active on Wednesday, 25 closed flat. 2100 deals worth KD 22.95 million were transacted - down 2 percent in value from the previous session.

In the banking sector, Commercial Bank of Kuwait dived 50 fils to KD 0.750 while Al Ahli Bank closed flat at KD 0.670. ABK has won the approval of Central Bank of Kuwait to extend buying back or selling a maximum of 10% of its issued shares for a period of 6 months ending on June 12, 2012.

Ahli United Bank rose 10 fils whereas Kuwait International Bank was unchanged at KD 0.255 after trading 1.15 million shares. Burgan Bank fell 5 fils to KD 0.450. The stock has eased 30 fils so far during the month and is down 80 fils year-to-date. Boubyan Bank closed flat at KD 0.600 after trading in red earlier in the session.

Investment major KIPCO was unchanged at KD 0.300 with a volume turnover of 3.75 million and National Investment Co followed suit to end at KD 0.196. The company has logged a net profit of KD 1.256.237 and earnings per share of 1 fils in the nine months period.

Slipped
Kuwait Financial Centre (Markaz) slipped 2 fils and KAMCO dropped 10 fils to close at KD 0.236. Kuwait Investment Co was down 6 fils at KD 0.104. The company has posted a net profit of KD 1,080,377 and earnings per share of 1.967 fils in the first nine-months of 2011.

National Real Estate Co fell 2 fils to KD 0.126 and Al Enma Real Estate Co followed suit to end at KD 0.106. Mabanee Co dropped 20 fils to KD 0.860 after trading 4.18 million shates.

National Industries Group stagnated at KD 0.265 while Kuwait Pipes added 8 fils. Gulf Cables climbed 20 fils to KD 1.500. The company has posted a net profit of KD 34,472,107 and earnings per share 164 fils in the first nine-months of 2011. Jazeera Airways rebounded 20 fils. The company has posted a net profit of KD 6.1 million in third quarter, up 36 percent from last year while in the first nine-months it posted a net profit of KD 9.2 million.

The bourse had been weak so far during the week and has shed 59.6 points from close of last week. The index has slid 121.4 points from start of the month and is trading 17 percent lower year-to-date. KSE, with 213 listed companies, is the second largest bourse in the region.

In the bourse related news, International Finance Co. announced has posted net loss of KD 4,609,831 and loss per share of 7.42 fils in the first six months of the year as against net loss of KD 3,654,802 and loss per share of 7.86 fils in the same period last year.

Aref Investment Group (AIG) announced that Developmental Projects Holding Company, fully owned by Kuwait Finance House, has made an offer to acquire AIG's 72 percent share in Aref Energy Company for a total value of KD 73,090,697. Refrigeration Ind. and Storage Co. has posted a net loss of KD 1,825,879 and loss per share of 20.62 fils as compared to net profit of KD 339,396 earnings per share of 3.8 fils in the same period last year.

Meanwhile KSE's Money Markets Authority earlier in October has sent correspondences to the following companies requesting them to provide steps taken to resume trade on shares. The companies are: International Investor Company, Securities House Company, Industrial and Financial Inv Co, International Investment Group, Aref Investment Group, Investment Dar Company, Aayan Leasing and Investment Company, GulfInvest International Co, Kuwait Financing and Investment Co, International Leasing and Investment Co, Al Madar Finance and Investment Co, Noor Financial Investment, Al-Masar Leasing and Investment Co, Safat Global Holding, Mena Holding Co, Al-Abraj Holding Co, Villa Moda Life Style, Services and Network Holding Co.