Kuwait index ends week in ‘red’; volume recedes

KFH dips 7 fils; NAPESCO gains

Kuwait stocks swung into red on Wednesday as it wound up the holidayshortened week on a sour note. The bourse dipped 43.99 pts to 6,849.11 points amid broad selling led by heavyweights. The banks were mostly subdued.

The KSX 15 benchmark dropped 89 pts to 1,021.6 points while weighted index edged 0.65 pts down to 439.13 points. The volume turnover meanwhile receded to hit week’s lowest level following the three-day rise. 139.4 million shares changed hands — a 16.2 pct drop from the day before

The sectors closed mostly in red. Insurance outshone the rest with 1.76 pct gain and technology shed 2.54 percent, the worst performer of the day. Volume wise, banks clocked the highest market share of 32.8 pct and real estate trailed with 28.7 percent contribution.

Among notable losers, Kuwait Finance House slipped 7 fils to 615 fils after trading over 6 million shares and KIPCO was down 5 fils at 355 fils. Kuwait Food Co (Americana) shed 20 fils with thin trading and Natinal Industries Group extended Tuesday’s losses with 4 fils drop in brisk trading .

Zain sank 6 fils to 531 fil with a volume of 6.3 million and Ooredoo was down 9 fils at KD 1.170. Kuwait Telecommunications Co gave up 4 fils and Agility dived 40 fils to 910 fils and the counter saw over 1 million shares change hands .

National Bank of Kuwait fell 2 fils to 779 fils with a volume of 1.5 million shares and Burgan Bank paused at 367 fils. The bank has posted a profit of KD 21.07 million in Q2, a 24.6 pct increase from same period last year.

The market opened firm but headed south in early trade . The price index plumbed the day’s lowest level of 6,830 pts past the mid-session as investors trimmed positions across the sectors. It however clawed back slightly before closing deep in red.

Top gainer of the day, Gulf Finance Co climbed 6.15 pct to 63.9 fils ad First Takaful Insurance Co scaled 5.8 pct to stand next. Marakez plunged 19.91 percent, the steepest decliner of the day and Ahli United Bank topped the volume with 15.4 million shares changing hands .

Reflecting the day’s drop, the market spread was heavily skewed towards the losers. 27 stocks advanced whereas 74 closed lower. Of the 122 counters active on Wednesday, 21 closed flat. 4398 deals worth KD 28.27 million were transacted — a 9.6 pct drop in value from the day before.

Kuwait Foundry Co eased 1 fil to 304 fils while Independent Petroleum Group and ACICO stood pat at 345 fils and 270 fils respectively. Heavy Engineering Industries and Shipbuilding Co took in 2 fils to end at 219 fils.

NAPESCO gained 16 fils whereas Humansoft Holding slid 50 fils ton KD 4.000. Educational Holding Group fell 3 fils and Kuwait Cable Vision Co was down 7 fils at 28 fils. NIACBM dipped 17 fils to 173 fils.

Flat

OSOS fell 4 fils to 110 fils and Ek Holding climbed 8 fils to 184 fils. Boubyan Petrochemical Co dialed up 2 fils and Al Qurain Petrochemical Co gave up 6 fils to close at 342 fils. Mezzan Holding was flat at 851 fil.

Burgan Well Drilling Co eased 0.5 fil while KCPC and Eyas For Higher and Technical Education paused at 165 fils and 545 fils respectively. Kuwait and Gulf Link Transport Co added 1.5 fils and KGL Logistics Co eased 0.2 fil.

ALAFCO clipped 2 fils and Jazeera Airways dipped 10 fils to 589 fils. The company has posted a 18.1 pct year-on-year increase in profits to KD 2.3 million during the April-June period.

In the banking sector, Gulf Bank took in 2 fils on back of 12.6 million shares Al Ahli bank stood pat at 308 fils. Al Mutahed inched 1 fil higher and Commercial Bank of Kuwait was not traded during the session.

Kuwait International Bank fell 2 fils to 252 fils and Boubyan Bank held ground at 454 fils off early lows. Warba Bank gave up 5 fils after trading over 1 million shares.

National Investment Co and Kuwait Investment Co were unchanged at 108 fils and 112 fils respectively while International Fianncial Advisors trimmed 0.3 fil. Securities House Co eased 0.5 fils to 54.9 fils.

KFIC paused at 49.5 fils and KMEFIC ticked 04 fils into red. The company recorded a profit of KD 163,510 in Q2 of 2017, rebounding from a loss of KD 730,370 in same period last year.

Bayan Investment Co clipped 2 fils whereas Coast Investment Co and Alola took in 0.5 fil each. Al Mal Investment Co and Sokouk Holding eased 0.1 fil each and Unicap gave up 2 fils.

Noor Financial Investment Co fell 1 fil while Al Madina and Amwal Investment closed flat. Al Imtiaz clipped 2 fils and Gulf Insurance Co gained 10 fils. Kuwait Insurance Co stalled at 280 fils.

Mabanee Co slipped 5 fils to 815 fils whereas National Real Estate Co and Abyaar Real Estate Co eased 1 fil each. Kuwait Real Estate Co fell 1.5 fils to 66 fils and Mazaya Holding was down 3 fils at 116 fils.

The market was largely downbeat during the week. The main index closed lower in three of the four sessions and dived 64 points week-on-week. It has shed 43 pts from the start of the month and is trading 19.15 pct higher year-todate. KSE, with 188 listed companies, is the second largest bourse in the region.

In the bourse related news, Aayan Leasing and Investment posted losses of KD 390,000 during the second quarter as against a loss of KD 235,000 in the same period last year. During the first half , the company’s earnings soared 544.2 percent year-on-year to KD 4.67 million

Kuwait Hotels’ second quarter profits jumped by 72.5 pct to KD 15,370 in as compared to KD 55,820 in the same period a year ago. During the first half of 2017, the earnings slid by 71.5 percent to KD 152,870 from the same period last year.

Kuwait Investment Co profits soared 158.3 percent to KD 2.97 million in the second quarter of 2017 from same period last year. In the January- June period, profits surged 283.6 pct year-on-year to KD 7.71 million.

Kuwait Real Estate Co’s net profits surged 51.2 pct year-onyear in the second quarter of 2017 to KD 1.49 million. In the first half , profits rose 10.5 percent to KD 3.16 million. Mabanee Company posted a 1.55 pct rise in profits to KD 12.55 million for the second quarter from Q2 of previous year. In the first half , profits ticked 1 pct up to KD 24.61 million from corresponding period of 2016.

Imtiaz Investment Group’s second quarter profits soared by a whopping 1,041 pct to KD 19.97 million from same period in 2016. During the first six months, profits surged 626.3% to KD 32.32 million.