Americana tumbles 60 fils; NBK flat By
Kuwait City: Kuwait stocks pulled lower on Wednesday, extending the losses to second straight session. The price index, after a firm start, dropped 8.87 pts to 6,285.6 points. Banks were mostly muted whereas speculative trading swayed mid and small caps in both directions. The KSX 15 gauge eased 2.19 pts to 1,013.03 points and is down 48 points year-to-date while weighted index inched 0.45 pts lower. The volume turnover meanwhile rebounded after receding in the last session. 137.65 million shares changed hands - a 17.65 percent drop from Tuesday.
The sectors closed mixed. Telecommunications outshone the rest with 0.40 pct while oil and gas shed 1.57 percent, the biggest loser of the day. In terms of volume, financial services notched the highest market share of 47.9 pct and real estate stood next with 30.47 percent. Telecommunications was a distant third with 7.49 pct contribution. In the individual shares, Kuwait Food Co (Americana) tumbled 60 fils to KD 2.800 while NAPESCO and Humansoft Holding shed 20 fils each to close at KD 0.570 and KD 1.180 respectively. Shuaiba Industrial Co was down 10 fils at KD 0.400. Market heavyweight Zain fell 5 fils to KD 0.415 reversing the gains in the last session while Wataniya Telecom vaulted 80 fils to end at KD 1.420. Kuwait Telecommunications Co (VIVA) retreated 10 fils and Agility was up 10 fils at KD 0.670. National Bank of Kuwait was flat at KD 0.860 off early lows and Boubyan Bank closed 5 fils higher.
The bank has posted a net profit of KD 16.03 million and earnings per share of 7.78 fils in the first half of 2015 soaring from net profit of KD 12.57 million and earnings per share of 6.10 fils in the same period last year. The market opened weak and nudged up in early trade. The main measure hit the day's highest level of 6,299.32 pts and retreated thereafter as selling pressure weighed on select counters. It continued to drift lower and bottomed at 6,271.39 points in the final minutes before clawing back some of the losses at close. Top gainer of the day, Metal and Recycling Co spiked 7.14 pct to 75 fils while Tamdeen Investment Co stood next with 6.67 percent gain.
Qurain Holding Co slumped 15 percent, the steepest decliner of the day and Al Dar National Real Estate Co topped the volume with over 34 million shares. Mirroring the day's downswing, the losers out led the winners. 34 stocks advanced whereas 51 closed lower. Of the 139 counters active on Wednesday, 54 closed lower. 3,108 deals worth KD 10.23 million were transacted - a 19.27 percent drop in value from the day before. National Industries Group , the flagship company of the Kharafi Group was flat at KD 0.170 and RISCO was up 5 fils at KD 0.395. Gulf Cable and Kuwait Portland Cement Co paused at KD 0.495 and KD 1.160 respectively and Kuwait Foundry Co too stagnated at KD 0.248.
Steady
ACICO Industries Co held steady at KD 0.310 while Equipment Holding Co and Salbookh Trading Co were up 1 fils each. Educational Holding Group gained 10 fils and Independent Petroleum Group added 5 fils. ALAFCO was flat at KD 0.230 and Jazeera Airways followed suit. The carrier has posted a 27.1 pct year-on-year surge in H1 net profit to KD 6.2 million while second quarter net profit reached KD 3.2 million -- an increase of 14.2% from the same period last year. Mashaer Holding Co dropped 8 fils and Mezzan Holding Co was down 20 fils at KD 1.120. The company has logged a net profit of KD 12.49 million and earnings per share of 42.13 fils in the January- June period of 2015, surging from net profit of KD 7.53 million and earnings per share of 25.41 fils in 2014, H1.
Zima Holding Co rose 5 fils and Al-Nawadi Holding Co followed suit. The company has posted a profit of KD 1,007,657 in the sixmnths period ending June 30, 2015 and profit per share of 5.54 fils as compared to a profit of KD 974,925 and EPS of 5.36 fils in the same period in 2014. In the banking sector, Gulf Bank and Ahli United Bank were unchanged at KD 0.275 and KD 0.345 respectively whereas Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait pulled 10 fils lower. Kuwait International Bank paused at KD 0.240. Commercial Bank jumped 30 fils to KD 0.630 while Burgan Bank held steady at KD 0.415. Kuwait Finance House gave up 10 fils to settle at KD 0.620 and is down 100 fils year-to-date. National Investment Co was flat at KD 0.128 off early lows and KIPCO too did not budge from its earlier close of KD 0.660.
The company has recorded a first half profit of KD 25.4 million- a 17 pct increase from same period of the previous year. In the second quarter, it posted KD 13.4 million in net profit - up 17.5 percent from for Q2, 2014. Securities Group Co dropped 4 fils and Securities House Co ended 2 fils in red. KMEFIC took in 2 fils whereas KAMCO and Sokouk Holding stagnated at 102 fils and 55 fils respectively. Tamdeen Investment Co gained 20 fils. The bourse has been mixed so far during the week and has gained 36 points in last four sessions. The price index has advanced 32 pts from start of the month and is trading 3.83 pct lower year-to-date. KSE, with 213 listed companies, is the second largest bourse in the region. In the bourse related news, Safat Energy Holding Company has incurred a net loss of KD 82,966 and losses per share of 0.14 fils narrowing from net loss of KD 333,485 and losses per share of 0.55 fils in the same period last year.
Kuwait Insurance Company has recorded a net profit of KD 4.55 million and earnings per share of 24.53 fils in the January-June period, up from net profit of KD 3.47 million and earnings per share of 18.65 fils in the first half of 2014. Alimtiaz Investment Group Co has registered a net profit of KD 7.65 million and earnings per share of 6.96 fils in the first half of 2015, rising sharply from net profit of KD 50,685 and earnings per share of 0.05 fils in the same period of 2014. Aayan Leasing and Investment Company has clocked a net profit of KD 5.42 million and earnings per share of 6.76 fils in the six-months period ending June 30, 2015, down from net profit of KD 8.88 million and earnings per share of 11.07 fils in the H1 of 2014. City Group Company has posted a net profit of KD 3.56 million and earnings per share of 31.51 fils in the January-June period of 2015 as against net profit of KD 2,85 million and earnings per share of 25.29 fils in the same period last year.
© Arab Times 2015
