Kuwait’s stocks rally for third straight day

Humansoft surges 158 fils, UPAC plunges 55 fils

KUWAIT CITY, June 5: Kuwait stocks rallied for a third consecutive day Tuesday after swinging between gains and losses. The All Share index advanced 10.43 points to close at 4,763.60 points.

The Premier Market index rose 5.05 points to close at 4,725.39 points while the Main Market rebounded to 20.13 points. The volume turnover meanwhile retreated as trade continued to thin during Ramadan. 36.02 million shares changed hands, a 9.09 percent fall from the previous session.

The sectors remained diverged during the session. Industrials outperformed with 0.92 percent gain while basic materials fell 0.45 percent to end as the top loser for the second straight day. In terms of volume, banks mustered the highest market share of 33.01 percent for the third session in a row while real estate and financial services trailed far behind with 24.61 percent and 19.85 percent contributions respectively.

The best performer was Al Madar Finance and Investment Co, which rose 8.83 percent after its shareholders announced results of General meeting and elected Board Members for 2018/2021 round.

Plunged

United Projects for Aviation Services Co plunged 55 fils or 7.97 percent to end as the worst performing stock. The heaviest-traded stock KFH fell 0.39 percent and on the back of 3.01 million shares.

Agility extended its gains to trade 0.67 percent higher, while National Industries Group was up 0.67 percent to close at 151 fils. Kuwait Projects Co closed flat during this session

Humansoft Holding Co spiked 158 fils or 4.76 percent to KD 3.478 while Kuwait National Cinema rose 30 fils or 2.94 percent to KD 1.050. Soor Fuel Marketing and Oula Fuel Marketing fell 5 fils each to 122 fils and 123 fils respectively.

Telecom shares dropped as Ooredoo shed 8 fils in thin trade whereas VIVA was down 3 fils . Zain however, gained 0.27 percent on the back of 2.6 million shares.

Banking shares advanced, led by CBK which gained 14 fils to close at KD 0.500 and heavyweight NBK extended its gains to trade 5 fils on the back of 2.3 million shares. Burgan Bank dialed up 2 fils and Gulf Bank added 1 fil to close at KD 0.246 and KD 0.255 respectively.

AUB closed 1 fil down after trading 2 million shares while KIB stagnated. Warba Bank and Boubyan Bank dipped 1 fil and 2 fils respectively. Al-Mutahed trimmed 0.77 percent whereas Ithmaar Holding 1.17 percent.

The market opened on a weak note and edged lower in early trade. The index continued to trade sideways in a lackluster trade well past the midsession. Last hour buying, however, helped lift stocks to close in green zone.

Kuwait Portland Cement Co and Kuwait Cement Co gained 11 fils whereas Umm Al Qaiwain extended its losses to trade at 3.3 fils. Kuwait Insurance Co climbed 5 fils to settle at KD 0.275 and Gulf Cable rose 4 fils.

Jazeera Airways jumped 11 fils, extending gains to KD 0.760. Osoul Investment Co surged 5.83 percent and Kuwait Investment Co inched 0.93 percent higher. Sultan Center Food Co gained 5.03 percent while Danah AlSafat Foodstuff Co dropped 3.41 percent.

Reflecting on the day’s upswing, the market was skewed toward the losers as 42 stocks closed lower whereas 38 advanced. Of the 102 counters active on Tuesday, 22 closed flat. 1,182 deals worth KD 9.85 million were transacted, a drop of 15.46 percent in value from the previous session.

Heavy Engineering and Ship Building Co eased 0.93 percent and Burgan Co for Well Drilling advanced 3.57 percent. Kuwait Foundry Co fell 1.02 percent to KD 0.195 and Alimtiaz Investment Group lost 1.54 while Kuwait Financial Centre slipped 1.94 percent to 101 fils.

Al-Arabiy Real Estate Co plunged 4.81 percent and Salhia Real Estate Co trimmed 0.89 percent. Jiyad Holding Co eased 1.19 percent to 99.8 fils and Specialities Group Holding Co was down 1.56 percent in thin trade.

Arkan Al-Kuwait Real Estate Co rose 3.87 and Al-Mazaya Holding ticked 2.03 percent higher on the back of over 1 million shares. Kuwait Investment Co edged up 0.93 percent to 108 fils while National Investment Co dialed up 1.11 percent. The Energy House Co sank 3.55 percent in thin trade while

The market has been largely upbeat during last week. The index has gained 27.88 points from the start of the month and trading down 25.66 percent so far this year. Boursa Kuwait is the second largest market in the region with 175 listed stocks.