• Home
• News Article

Kuwait Bourse Slips 3.5 Pts In Choppy Trade

By John Mathews KUWAIT CITY, Jan 8: Kuwait market edged lower Sunday as shares closed narrowly mixed. The index slipped 3.5 points in choppy trade weighed by select heavyweights while speculative buying lifted some of the mid-caps. The sentiment was skittish as investors await indicators before taking up fresh positions.
The bourse wound up at 5,723.40 points after moving in tight range while the weighted index eased 0.33 points to 398.98. The volume pulled lower stemming the increase in the last three sessions. 158.55 million shares changed hands - down 16 percent from Thursday. KSE had eked a marginal 0.04 percent gain in whole of December and has drifted lower from start of the 2012.

Bourse heavyweight Zain dropped 10 fils to KD 0.850 adding to an identical fall in the day before and the counter saw 0.55 million shares change hands. Agility was up 5 fils on back of 2.26 million shares trimming deeper losses earlier in the session. The logistics service provider has bid about KD 25.6 million to acquire a strategic stake in Kuwait Health Assurance Co.

National Industries Group edged 2 fils lower after trading 0.9 million shares. The stock had fell 15 fils during December and is down 35 fils so far during the month. Wataniya Telecom and Kuwait Gulf Links were not traded on Sunday.

National Investment Co eased 2 fls to KD 0.168 and investment major KIPCO was down 5 fils at KD 0.295. Kuwait Financial Centre ( Markaz ) shed 6 fils after trading 2.56 million shares.

On the upside, Jazeera Airways climbed 25 fils to KD 0.435 and Yiaco Medicals followed suit to end at KD 0.370. Kuwait Food Co (Americana) added 20 fils with thin trading. ALAFCO fell 10 fils to KD 0.290 with a volume of 1.64 million shares and United Projects shed 15 fils.

Weak
The market opened slightly weak and edged lower in early trade. The index swayed in a narrow range and slipped to the lowest level on 5713.5 pts almost half way into the session. It continued to drift sideways as investors toed caution and wound up slightly below the opening mark.

Top gainer of the day, Masaken spiked 13.97 percent to 53 fils while Hits Telecom climbed 8.4 percent to stand next. Warba Insurance slid 7.2 percent the steepest decliner of the day while Hits Telecom also topped the volume with 38.4 million shares.

Reflecting the day's fall, the market spread was skewed towards the losers. 25 stocks advanced while 37 closed lower. Of the 87 counters active on Sunday, 24 closed flat. 1925 deals worth KD 15.93 million were transacted - down 40.6 percent in value from day before.

In the banking sector, National Bank of Kuwait rose 20 fils on back of 1.35 million shares to close at KD 1.140 whereas Gulf Bank edged 5 fils lower. Standard & Poor's earlier in December has upgraded Gulf Bank 's long-term credit rating of BBB- to BBB, and raised the Bank's outlook from stable to positive.

Ahli United Bank slid 30 fils to KD 0.820 while Commercial Bank of Kuwait and Al Ahli Bank were not traded during the session. Commercial Bank had shed 130 fils during whole of 2011. Kuwait International Bank held the ground unchanged at KD 0.248 off early lows.

Kuwait Financial Centre was flat at KD 0.880 and Boubyan Bank followed suit to wind up at KD 0.590. Burgan Bank was not traded during the session. The stock had retreated 55 fils during 2011.

Osoul Investment fell 4 fils to 64 whereas Ekititab Holding ticked 2 fils higher. Al Madina For Finance and Investment Co was up 2.5 fils. Aref Energy eased 6 fils to 96 fils whereas Soor Fuel Marketing gained 15 fils.

Tamdeen Investment was not traded during the session. The company has obtained the approval of Capital Market Authority to extend buying back a maximum of 10% of its shares for a period of 6 months ending on April 16, 2012.

Flat
National Real Estate Co edged 2 fils up whereas Salhiya Real Estate and Mabanee Co closed flat. Mazaya Holding Co rose 2 fils to 61 fils and Sultan Centre took in 2 fils to close at KD 0.118. The company chalked net losses of KD 5.6 million or 10 fils per share, for the first nine months of 2011.

The bourse had been downbeat during last week. It closed lower in all the five sessions and slid 87.3 points week-on-week. The index has tumbled 90.8 pts so far during the month after shedding 17 percent during whole of 2011. KSE, with 213 listed companies, is the second largest bourse in the region.

In the bourse related news, KSE has lifted the ban on trading of Ekttitab Holding Co's share with effect from Jan 4, 2012. This move follows the fall in shareholders' holding following the reduction of capital from KD 51,700,000 to KD 22,862,423.

The bourse authorities have announced suspension of Burgan Well Drilling Co. with effect from January 2, 2012 for failing to pay annual membership fee for 2011/2012.

KSE listed companies have logged a 3.2 percent decline in third quarter profit to hit KD 923 million, according to Al Joman Center for Economic Consultancy. Investment sector, the biggest decliner , saw a 98 percent drop in earnings followed by the real estate sector which eroded 19 percent.

Al Safat Real Estate Co has posted a net loss of KD 1,435,068 and loss per share of 5.98 fils in the first nine-months of the year as compared to a net loss of KD 745,249 and loss per share of 3.11 fils in the same period last year. Al Aman Investment Co has posted a net loss of KD 1,581,185 and loss per share 3.3 fils in the nine-month period ending Sep 30. This compares with net profit of KD 738,187 and earnings per share of 1.5 fils in the same period last year.

© Arab Times 2012