Zain gains 20 fils; Wataniya Telecom spikes 80 fils

KUWAIT CITY, March 8: Kuwait stock exchange eked slight gains on Tuesday after posting steep loss in the previous session. The index nudged 3.4 points up in choppy trade led by select blue chips and some of the mid-caps.

The trading floor sentiments were markedly skittish owing to lack of strong indicators. However undercurrent in bearish as the specter of unrest continues to loom over the regional bourses.

The benchmark wound up at 6,138 points after trading below the red from most part of the session while weighted index rose 2.61 points to settle at 426.34. The volume turnover swelled above 100 million after hitting the month's lowest mark in the last session. 113 million shares changed hands -- a 38.3 percent surge from Monday. The market had been lackluster since the start of the month and saw steep declines on successive days last week.

Bourse heavyweight Zain climbed 20 fils partly recouping the loss in the previous session. It closed at KD 1.320 and saw 1.37 million shares change hands. Meanwhile Etisalat's stake bid in rival Zain will be exempt from the Kuwaiti capital market laws pertaining to takeovers, an official said on Monday. T he Feb 28 due diligence deadline passed without action on both parties involved in the deal.

Wataniya Telecom soared 80 fils to KD 1.680 more than recouping the decline in the previous session. The company has posted a net profit of KD 78,020,000 and earnings per share of 155.68 fils in 2010, down from KD 108,291,000 and 216.08 fils in the previous year. The Board of Directors has recommended a cash dividend of 50 fils.

Agility nudged 5 fils higher making up for an identical fall on Monday and wound up at KD 0.335. The stock had dropped 90 fils during February and has slid 185 fils since start of the year. Kuwait Gulf Links held the ground unchanged at KD 0.128.

National Industries Group rose 4 fils on back of 1.38 million shares to settle at KD 0.246 while Kuwait Pipes and Kuwait Cement Co eased 10 fils each. Gulf Cables climbed 40 fils recovering an identical fall in the previous session and Kuwait Portland Cement Co added 20 fils.

National Investment Co, a Kharafi Group Co, rose 5 fils stemming the early decline. It ended at KD 0.260 and saw 2.49 million shares change hands. The company's Board of Directors of has approved the financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2010 and has also recommended retaining earnings for the year 2010. KIPCO held the ground unchanged at KD 0.395 after vacillating in a tight range.

Rose
Kuwait Finance House rose 20 fils to close at KD 1.120 whereas National Bank of Kuwait was steady at KD 1.140 after moving in a broad range. The lender had eased 40 fils during February. Gulf Bank edged 5 fils higher to close at KD 0.475 partly recovering the loss in the day before.

Global Investment House ticked 1 fils higher to KD 0.043 whereas Bayan Investment Co and Al Maal Investment closed flat.

The market opened on wobbly and fell into trough in early trade. The index clawed back on a brief bout of bargain buying and hit the day's highest level of 6142.90 points. The market however failed to hold on to the gains and retreated below the red. It moved range bound till the final minutes as sentiments remained subdued and an uptick in buying at close pushed the index back in the positive region.
The top gainers of the day, Arab Real Estate Co and First Dubai For Real Estate Development soared 9.1 percent each while Safat Real Estate Co slid 8.1 percent, the steepest decliner of the day. Mayadeen topped the volume with over 23 million shares changing hands.

The market spread was skewed towards the gainers. 35 stocks advanced while 24 closed lower. Of the 105 counters active on Tuesday, 39 closed flat. 2340 deals worth KD 20.26 million were transacted -- a 16.1 percent rise in value over previous session.

The sectoral indices closed mixed. Banking sector inched 0.1 percent higher and investment followed suit. Insurance shed 2.7 percent, the biggest loser of the day, whereas real estate climbed 0.5 percent.
 
Industrials eased 0.3 percent while services and food sector rose 0.4 percent and 1.4 percent respectively. Non-Kuwaiti shed 0.6 percent.

The bourse had been wobbly so far during the week and has shed 9 points from last week's closing mark. It had dived 343 points from start of the month and is down over 11 percent year-to-date. KSE, with 215 listed companies, is the second largest bourse in the region.

International Financial Advisers inched 1 fils lower while International Finance Co dropped 10 fils to KD 0.275. Al Tamdeen Investment Co slipped 8 fils. The company has chalked a net profit KD 3,440,249 earnings per share 11.36 fils in the full year 2010 as against a net profit of last KD 2,266,116 and earnings per share of 7.31 in 2009. The Board of Directors recommended a dividend payout of: cash 6 percent.

Among the lenders, Al Ahli Bank dropped 20 fils while Ahli United Bank was down 10 fils at KD 0.760.
Burgan Bank added 10 fils. The lender has Bank registered a net profit of KD 4,655,000 and earnings per share 3.6 fils in 2010, down from KD 6,211,000 and 5.7 fils in the previous year. The Board of Directors recommended a 5 percent bonus shares dividend.

Noor Financial Investment Co ticked 1.5 fils higher and Al Safat Investment edged 1 fils up to settle at KD 0.053. National Real Estate Co eased 1 fils to KD 0.097 while Mabanee Co closed flat. Mabanee Company has logged KD 18.6 million net profits in 2010, up from KD 15.3 million in the year before. The Board of Directors has decided to distribute a dividend of 10 percent of the profit. The assets had reached KD 256.4 million by end of 2010 while liabilities amounted to KD 129.4 million.

Meanwhile, Kuwait Stock Exchange has suspended the following companies from trading for failing to publish the financial results within the stipulated time period: Al Safat Global Holding Company, Al Dar Investment Company, International Leasing and Investment Company, Villa Moda Lifestyle Company, International Investment Group, Network Holding Company, Securities House Company, Gulf International Investment Company, International Investor Company, Aayan Leasing and Investment Company, Al Dar National Real Estate Company and Educational Group Holding Company.

© Arab Times 2011