Kuwait bourse closes higher in choppy trade

NAPESCO soars 40 fils; Ooredoo dives

KUWAIT CITY, March 20: Kuwait stocks eked modest gains on Monday extending the winning streak to fifth consecutive day. The main index rose 11.27 pts in choppy trade to 6,868.83 points even as the board remained broadly mixed. The banks and real estate majors however were mostly muted.

The KSX 15 benchmark climbed 3.49 points to 964.23 pts taking the year’s gains to 80 points while weighted index inched 0.52 pts into green. The volume turnover meanwhile rose slightly to hit month’s second highest level. 448.43 million shares changed hands — a 2.43 pct rise from the day before.

The sectors diverged. Oil and gas outshone the rest with 2.78 pct gain whereas technology dipped 2.99 percent, the worst performer of the day. In terms of volume, real estate garnered the highest market share of 55.6 pct and financial services trailed far behind with 25 pct contribution

In the individual shares, Ahli United Bank climbed 20 fils to 465 fils and investment conglomerate KIPCO gave up 5 fils to settle at 485 fils. NAPESCO soared 40 fils recouping Sunday’s drop while Humansoft Holding gained 20 fils.

Zain rose 10 fils to 460 fils extending the last session’s gains and Wataniya Telecom (Ooredoo) tumbled 60 fils to KD 1.180. Kuwait Telecommunications Co ( VIVA) was up 10 fils at 840 fils and Agility followed suit.

National Bank of Kuwait was flat at 750 fils and Boubyan Bank too did not budge from its earlier close of 420 fils. The bank’s fourth quarter profit rose 13.5 pct year-on-year to KD 11.44 million and for the full year profit was up 16.6 pct to KD 41.07 mln.

The market opened on a firm note but slipped into red in early trade. The main index bounced to scale the day’s highest mark of 6,879.91 points and retreated thereafter as sentiment weakened. It continued to drift lower and plumbed the day’s lowest level of 6,849.17 points in final minutes before clawing back into the green zone at close.

Top gainer of the day, Yiaco spiked 10 pct to 275 fils while Kuwait Financial Centre (Markaz) climbed 7.22 pct to stand next. Sanam Real Estate Co slid 8.47 percent, the steepest decliner of the day and Abyaar Real Estate Co topped the volume with 119.4 million shares.

Despite the day’s uptick, the losers slightly outnumbered the winners. 43 stocks advanced whereas 47 closed lower. Of the 143 counters active on Monday, 53 closed lower. 7125 deals worth KD 35.2 million were transacted — a 15.6 pct drop in value from the day before.

National Industries Group eased 2 fils to 134 fils with a volume of 1.8 million while Heavy Engineering Industries and Shipbuilding Co and Shuaiba Paper Industries Co rose 10 fils each. Kuwait Portland Cement Co climbed 40 fils to KD 1.100.

Gained

Kuwait Foundry Co gained 15 fils whereas ACICO Industries and Boubyan Petrochemical Co stood pat at 300 fils and 580 fils respectively. Metal and Recycling Co too was unchanged at 76 fils and NICBM took in 2 fils.

Jazeera Airways rose 10 fils to 580 fils and ALAFCO gave up 2 fils. Gulf Cable was up 5 fils at 500 fils. KCPC dropped 10 fils while KPPC and OSOS clipped 2 fils each.

Automated Systems Co dived 25 fils with razor thin trading whereas Combined Group Co and Burgan Well Drilling Co were unchanged at 495 fils and 93 fils respectively. UPAC slipped 10 fils and Al Rai Media Group fell 2 fils.

Kuwait and Gulf Link Transport Co dialed up 2 fils and KGL Logistics inched 1 fil higher. Zimah Holding edged 1 fil into red and Mezzan Holding gained 20 fils. Independent Petroleum Group jumped 25 fils to 425 fils.

In the banking sector, Kuwait Finance House and Burgan Bank were flat at 620 fils and 325 fils respectively whereas Kuwait International Bank gave up 4 fils.

Gulf Bank was unchanged at 246 fils off slight early highs and Warba Bank was up 5 fils at 265 fils. Commercial Bank and Al Ahli Bank were not traded during the session.

International Financial Advisors ( IFA) inched 0.5 fil higher on back of 3.4 million shares whereas Kuwait Investment Co and National Investment Co paused at 96 fils and 118 fils respectively. Coast Investment Co eased 0.5 fil to 48.5 fils.

Bayan Investment Co fell 1.5 fils while Arzan and Al Mal took in 0.5 fil each. KFIC added 2.5 fils and Noor Financial Investment Co clipped 2 fils. KMEFIC and Al Mal Investment Co took in 0.5 fil each while Osoul Investment dialed up 2 fils.

KAMCO was up 1 fil at 88 fils whereas Securities Group and Securities House Co paused at 99 fils and 53 fils respectively. Sokouk Holding gave up 0.5 fil while Al Deera Holding and Tamdeen Investment Co stalled at 39 fils and 320 fils respectively.

Kuwait Real Estate Co and United Real Estate Co were flat at 75 fils and 94 fils respectively while Salhiya Real Estate Co was down 5 fils at 370 fils. National Real Estate Co paused at 106 fils and Mazaya Holding too did not budge from its earlier close of 132 fils.

The market has been trending higher so far during the week and has climbed 58 points in last two sessions. It has gained 85 points from start of the month and is trading 19.5 pct higher year-to-date. KSE, with 208 listed companies, is the second largest bourse in the region.

In the bourse related news, Al Mazaya Holding net profits soared 31.7 pct to KD 2.59 million in last quarter of 2016 while profits rose 10 pct to KD 10.25 million during the fiscal year of 2016. The board has recommended an annual cash dividend of 8% or 8 fils per share.

Gulf Glass Manufacturing Co’s fourth quarter net profit dipped o 64% in KD 14,000 from KD 39,000 in same period last year. During the fiscal year of 2016, profits was down 48 percent to KD 1.21 million from KD 2.34 mln in the previous year.

Al Mowasat Health Care has posted KD 1.8 million profits during the fourth quarter of 2016 and for the fiscal year of 2016, earnings rose 35.3 pct to KD 4.52 million from the year before. The board of directors has recommended a dividend payout of 20% or 20 fils per share.

Injazzat Real Estate Development has posted a net profit of KD 550,000 in the last quarter of 2016 and during the fiscal year of 2016, the bank earned KD 3.2 million. The board has recommended a cash dividend of 5% or 5 fils per share for FY 2016.

Ajial Real Estate Entertainment Company (AREEC) net losses narrowed by 22.7 pct to KD 888,620 from KD 1.15 million in Q4 of 2115. The annual profits in 2016 clocked KD 1.5 million and the board has recommended the distribution of cash dividends at 5% of capital.