NBK rises 20 fils; Zain up 10 fils

KUWAIT CITY, Dec 1: Kuwait market saw solid gains Thursday to kick off month on a high note. The index rose 23.6 points the highest single day gain in over a month, driven by renewed buying in select heavyweights and some of the mid-priced stocks. The sentiment was cautiously optimistic even as investors await further development in the political situation after appointment of the new prime minister.

The bourse wound up at 5835.20 points while the weighted index gained 2.72 points to settle at 412.49. The volume turnover soared for the second consecutive day. 183.18 million shares changed hands -- a 27.5 percent surge from the day before. The volume had largely been anemic during November and had hit a multi-month low of 38.66 million on Nov 20.

National Bank of Kuwait climbed 20 fils on back of 1.42 million shares to wind up at KD 1.160 and Kuwait Finance House added 10 fils recouping the fall in the previous session. It closed at KD 0.910 and saw a volume turnover of 2.66 million. Bourse heavyweight Zain rose 10 fils after stagnating on Wednesday. It closed at KD 0.920 with a volume turnover of 7.2 million shares. Agility too was up 10 fils at KD 0.395 whereas Wataniya Telecom closed flat. Among other notable gainers, National Industries Co jumped 25 fils and IFA Hotels and Resorts followed suit to wind up at KD 0.435 and Combined Group Contracting Co rose 20 fils adding to an identical rise in the previous session. The company has logged a net earnings of. KD 6.63 million in the first nine months of 2011.

Slipped
National Industries Group however slipped 5 fils after trading 2.5 million shares while Kuwait Portland Cement and Contracting and Marine Services both closed 10 fils lower. Kuwait Pipes ticked 2 fils higher whereas Gulf Cables held the ground unchanged at KD 0.138. The bourse opened flat but rose sharply in early trade as investors chased select stocks. The index hit the day's highest level of 5835.9 points and retreated thereafter as profit booking kicked in. It moved almost flat in the second half and managed to close with impressive gains.

"All eyes are on the political situation and so investors are cautious," Reuters quoted a Kuwait trader who asked not to be identified. "High-net-worth investors and institutions don't want to play the market because there's not enough liquidity to be able to easily enter and exit with large positions."

"The plans for the economy and the country are on hold due to the political situation and the stock market is suffering because the new regulator is not up and running properly yet", he added.

Top gainer of the day, Al Safat Real Estate Co climbed 11.11 percent to 15 fils while National Industries Company rose 8.7 percent to stand next. Pearl of Kuwait slid 6.25 percent, the biggest decliner of the day, while Ahleia Holding topped the volume with 25.04 million shares.

Reflecting the day's gain, the winners widely outnumbered the losers. 28 stocks advanced while 48 closed lower. Of the 97 counters active on Thursday, 22 closed flat. 2576 deals worth KD 26.24 million were transacted -- up 2.3 percent in value over previous session.
In the banking sector Gulf Bank closed flat at KD 0.530 off early lows while Commercial Bank slipped 10 fils to settle at KD 0.760. The stock had gained 30 fils during whole of November and is trading 160 fils lower year-to-date.

Ahli United Bank added 10 fils to end at KD 0.820 whereas Kuwait International Bank closed flat. KIB's operating revenue rose 11 percent to KD 26.7 million in the third quarter, from KD 24.0 million in the year earlier. Net earnings came in at KD 8.2 million and KD 4.7 million was allocated in provisions.

Unchanged
Burgan Bank rose 5 fils on back of 1.06 million shares after stagnating on Wednesday while Boubyan Bank held the ground unchanged at KD 0.590. Al Ahli Bank was not traded during the session.

Investment major KIPCO fluctuated in a narrow range before closing flat and saw a volume of 5.04 million shares while National Investment Co rose 4 fils. NIC has logged a net profit of KD 1.256.237 and earnings per share of 1 fils in the nine-month period ending Sep 30, 2011.

Kuwait Financial Centre Co ticked 2 fils higher while Al Deera Holding and Al Maal Investment both edged 1 fils higher. Tamdeen Investment Co eased 2 fils to settle at KD 0.156. The firm has posted a net profit of KD 4,461,515 and earnings per share of 14.9 fils in the first nine-months of 2011.

Independent Petroleum Group added 5 fils whereas Kuwait Gulf Links closed flat. Sultan Centre fell 2 fils to KD 0.120 after trading 3.4 million shares. The company has posted a loss of KD 5.6 million in the first nine months of 2011, compared to a profit of KD 3.4 million in the same period in 2010.

ALAFCO rose 5 fils whereas Jazeera Airways dropped 5 fils snapping the gaining spree earlier in the week. 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 upbeat during the week. It closed higher in 3 of the 4 sessions in the holiday curtailed week gaining 53.2 points. It has slid 108 points during whole of November and is trading 16 percent lower year-to-date. KSE, with 213 listed companies, is the second largest bourse in the region. In the bourse related news, Global Investment House Co has posted a net loss of KD 54,224,000 and loss per share of 44 fils in the nine-months period ending September 2011 as against net loss of KD 46,241,000 and loss per share of 38 fils in the same period last year.

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. 

© Arab Times 2011