Kuwait’s index drops amid sluggish trading

Ooredoo dips 33 fils; NBK flat

By John Mathews

Arab Times Staff

KUWAIT CITY, Feb 18: Kuwait stocks headed south on Sunday following last week’s hefty gains. The bourse dipped 43.41 pts in sluggish trade to 6,720.97 points even as profit-taking weighed on select counters led by banks and telecom shares.

The KSX 15 gauge slipped 6.85 points to 939.63 pts trimming the year’s gains to 25 points while weighted index was down 3.11 points at 407.55 pts. The volume turnover saw a modest bounce after last session pullback. 68.47 million shares changed hands — a 31 pct rise from the previous session.

The sectors closed mostly in red. Basic materials outshone the rest with 0.43 percent gain and banks dipped 2.26 pct, the worst performer of the day. Volume wise banks notched the highest market share of 34 pct and financial services followed with 30 pct contribution.

Among the notable fallers, Al Ahli Bank slid 21 fils to 292 fils and Commercial Bank dropped 10 fils to 430 fils erasing previous session’s gains. UPAC tumbled 108 fils to 452 fils and Kuwait National Cinema Co was down 14 fils at KD 1.051.

Zain slipped 7 fils to 446 fils after trading 1.4 million shares and Ooredoo shed 33 fils extending Thursday’s losses. Kuwait Telecommunications Co ( VIVA) clipped 2 fils and Agility ticked 1 fil higher.

Burgan Bank dropped 11 fils to 295 fils and Kuwait International Bank clipped 2 fils. The bank has posted a drop of 10.6% in profits to KD 4.23 mln during the fourth quarter of 2017 compared to the same period in 2016.

The market opened on a tame note and drifted lower in early trade. The main index continued to head south as selling dominated the trading floor and plumbed the day’s lowest level of 6711 pts past the mid-session. It however clawed back some of the losses at close.

Top gainer of the day, KFIC rallied 13.5 pct to 45.4 fils and Tahsillat climbed 9.12 pct to 29.9 fils. Kuwait Cable Vision plunged 20 percent, the steepest decliner of the day and Ithmaar Bank topped the volume with over 11 million shares.

Mirroring the day’s drop, the market spread was skewed towards the losers. 35 stocks advanced whereas 70 closed lower. Of the 115 counters active on Sunday, 12 closed flat. 2735 deals worth over KD 10 million were transacted — up 10 pct in value from the day before.

National Industries Group was unchanged at 161 fils and Gulf Cable gqained 17 fils. Kuwait Portland Cement soared 35 fils to KD 1.060 and ACICO was up 5 fils at 250 fils. Equipment Holding Co fell 1.3 fils to 35.6 fils.

Jazeera Airways ticked 1 fil lower to 599 fils and ALAFCO shed 10 fils. Yiaco Medical gave up 2 fils. Boubyan Petrochemical Co climbed 9 fils to 721 fils and Al Qurain Petrochemical Co took in 1 fil.

Humansoft Holding rose 2 fils to KD 3.450 Combined Group Co was down 8 fils to settle at 450 fils. Kuwait and Gulf Links Transport Co dipped 10 fils to 102 fils and KGL Logistics trimmed 1.3 fils.

Eased

Mashaer Holding eased 1 fil to 62 fils and NICBM was unchanged at 198 fils. Al Rai Media Group edged 1 fil up to 111 fils and Gulf Finance House slipped 5.2 fils to 98.8 fils and Salbookh Trading and Contracting Co dialed down 2 fils.

In the banking sector, National Bank of Kuwait was flat at 760 fils and Gulf Bank clipped 2 fils to settle at 244 fils. Al Mutahed inched 1 fil down to 345 fils.

Kuwait Finance House and Boubyan Bank trimmed 1 fil each to wind up at 591 fils and 479 fils respectively whereas Warba Bank dialed down 2 fils after trading 1.2 million shares.

KIPCO fell 4 fils to 300 fils whereas Kuwait Investment Co and Securities House stood pat at 142 fils and 50.5 fils respectively. National Investment Co slipped 2.4 fils to 98.2 fils and Commercial Facilities Co ticked 1 fil into red.

Kuwait Financial Centre ( Markaz) eased 1 fil to 113 fils while Bayan Investment Co and Noor Financial Investment Co clipped 0.2 fils each. KMEFIC took in 0.5 fils and KFIC was up 5.4 fils at 45.4 fils. Unicap closed 2.4 fils in red.

International Financial Advisors eased 0.3 fil to 28.7 fils and Al Deera Holding gave up 1.7 fils. Coast Investment Co trimmed 0.4 fil and Sokouk Holding edged 0.4 fil higher. Bayan Investment inched 0.2 fil into red.

Tamdeen Investment Co took in 1 fil and Al Imtiaz eased 1 fil to 143 fils. Al Deera Holding fell 1.7 fils and Amwal gave up 2.8 fils before settling at 53 fils. Kuwait Insurance Co paused at 284 fils and Gulf Insurance Co dropped 5 fils.

Mabanee Co climbed 7 fils to 736 fils and Mazaya Holding dialed down 1 fils. Marakez added 2.5 fils and Remal was down 1.4 fils at 38.2 fils. Salihiya Real Estate dropped 10 fils to 338 fils.

The bourse had been largely upbeat during last week. The main index closed higher in two of the five sessions and gained 110 pts weekon-week. It had rallied 120 points from start of the month and is trading 4.88 pct higher year-to-date. KSE, with 188 listed companies, is the second largest bourse in the region.

In the bourse related news, Warba Bank has penciled a 18.9 pct rise in profits to KD 2.02 million in the fourth quarter of 2017 compared to the same period last year. Earnings surged by 163 percent to KD 6.77 million in the fiscal ending Dec 31, 2017 as against KD 2.58 million in the previous fiscal year. The jump in profits is attributed to a 53 pct increase in the financing portfolio on an annual basis.

Kuwait Telecommunication Co (Viva) logged a 9.8 pct rise in profits to KD 11.8 mln during the fourth quarter of 2017 as against Q4 of 2016. During 2017, earnings was up marginally by 1 percent to KD 40.09 mln compared to KWD 39.81 million in FY16. The board has recommended a cash dividend of 30 percent for FY2017 or 30 fils per share.

Aqar Real Estate Investments’ fourth quarter profits dropped by 14.7 pct from the same period last year to to KD 732,000. During fiscal year 2017, earnings saw a marginal year-on-year rise of 1.1 percent to KD 1.76 million. The board of directors has recommended cash dividend of 6 pct or 6 fils per share for FY17.

Al Imtiaz Investment Group slipped into red in the fourth quarter of 2017 as it incurred KD 2.9 million in losses in the quarter against profit of KD 6.7 million in the year-ago period. In the full-year 2017, it posted a profit of KD 30.85 mln, up 124.7% from previous year. The company attributed its higher annual profits to selling a part of its stake in an associate.