KUWAIT, July 4 (KUNA) -- Due to political and economic variables, there was much variance in the performance of Kuwait Sock Exchange's sectors during this week of trading, which ended earlier on Wednesday.

Speaking to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), Chairman of International Resorts Company Husain Al-Attal said this week's trading was expected as profits of listed firms were anticipated.

He noted there was an upswing in modifying the losses of some firms to show up as profits which led to the variance.

The closing prices of 2007's first half affected pricings as some stocks declined due to speculations and harvesting of profits on leading shares, he explained.

As the bourse has many listed firms with a market value exceeding 50 billion Kuwaiti Dinars (KD), KSE still enjoys a great amount of stability despite this week's developments, he said.

Al-Attal added that many firms were increasing their capital and that lead to increasing trading in sectors, but traders had to be careful as to which company they invested in.

The market was affected by the interpellation of resigned Oil Minister Sheikh Ali Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah, regional developments especially in Iran, as well as international events such as London's terrorist attempts.

On his part, Managing Director of Ajal Holding Company Abdulaziz Al-Rabah said the market was affected by the aftermath of excluding stakes of a certain economic group in a number of listed firms.

Such aftermath brought up calls urging overall transparency and disclosure for the benefit of small investors, he added.

Despite variance in trading between sectors, the market still has a great amount of liquidity that would enable confronting any fluctuations and trading will pickup its intensity by next week, especially investment, banks and real-estate sectors, he explained.

Financial Analyst from Al-Robaeya Brokerage Company Maitham Al-Shakhs said the main variable was traders focusing on leading shares and the price index reached record levels, as well a high trading value of KD 300 million during one day.

Next week's trading will witness a balance that will take the index to a record level of over 12,300 points, he said.

One KD equals USD 3.47.

By Mohammad Kamal