Kuwait stocks extend gains, volume swells
Zain climbs 11 fils; Humansoft Holding dips
KUWAIT CITY, Aug 5: Kuwait stocks swung higher on Sunday extending its gains to third straight session. The All Shares Index rallied 36.2 pts to 5,242.27 points helped by heavyweights and some of the mid-caps even as Humansoft Holding saw steep losses.
The Premier Market main market soared 60.72 points to 5,410 pts and Main Market slipped 8.5 pts to 4,937.67 points. The volume turnover meanwhile swelled past the 100 million mark for the first time during the month. 115 million shares changed hands – a 34.5 pct surged from the previous session.
The sectors closed mixed. Basic materials outshone the rest with 4.5 percent gain whereas technology slumped over 2 pct, the worst performer of the day. Volume wise, banks garnered the highest market share of 52.5 pct and financial services trailed far behind with 15.5 percent contribution.
Among the prime movers, sector bellwether National Bank of Kuwait rallied 6 fils on back of 3.6 million shares extending last session’s gains and Kuwait Finance House sprinted 9 fils to 603 fils with brisk trading. Kuwait Portland Cement scaled 25 fils to close at KD 1.120.
Zain climbed 11 fils to 497 fils on back of 5 million shares and is up 62 fils year-to-date while Ooredoo trimmed 1 fil to wind up at 794 fils. Kuwait Telecommunications Co (VIVA) took in 2 fils and Agility rallied 12 fils to 875 fils with a volume of over 2 million shares.
The market opened firm and headed north in early trade. The All Shares Index slipped briefly into a trough in the first half before clawing back amid fresh buying interest in select counters. It drifted sideways thereafter well into the final minutes as sentiment turned mixed and revved up in the final minutes to close with moderate gains.
Surged
Top gainer of the day, Al Eid surged 9.92 pct to 66.5 fils and Aayan Real Estate climbed 0.01 percent to stand close behind. Burgan Well Drilling Co dipped 8 percent, the steepest decliner of the day and Gulf Bank topped the volume with 29.5 million shares.
Mirroring the day’s gains, the winners eclipsed the losers. 52 stocks advanced whereas 41 closed lower. Of the 113 counters active on Sunday, 20 closed flat. 4665 deals worth KD 31.1 million were transacted — a 63.8 pct surge in value from the day before.
National Industries Group dialed up 2 fils on back of over 3 million shares and Mezzan Holding scaled 5 fils to close at 720 fils. Boubyan Petrochemical Company soared 64 fils to KD 1.015 and NICBM stood pat at 174 fils.
Humansoft Holding tumbled 40 fils to KD 2.450 and Combined Group Contracting Co ticked 1 fil higher. ALAFCO eased 1 fil to 355 fils and Mashaer Holding added 2.1 fils before winding up at 50 fils.
Equipment Holding Co took in 0.5 fil and Automated Systems Co slipped 3 fils to 135 fils with thin trading. KCPC jumped 16 fils to 237 fils and KPPC ticked 1.7 fils into red.
Kuwait an Gulf Links Transport Co dialed down 2 fils while Heavy Engineering Industries and Shipbuilding Co climbed 10 fils to 441 fils. Al Rai Media Group inched 0.7 fil higher and Inovest took in 1.6 fils to wind up at 87.5 fils.
In the banking sector, Commercial Bank dropped 10 fils to 515 fils Gulf Bank and Burgan Bank ticked 1 fil each to close at 270 fils and 278 fils respectively. Boubyan Bank fell 2 fils to 517 fils after trading over 1 million shares.
Alhli Bank was flat at 330 fils and AlMutahed gave up 3 fils to close at 299 fils. Ahli United Bank took in 1 fil and Warba Bank rose 4 fils to 236 fils.
Investment conglomerate KIPCO was unchanged at 232 fils and Gulf Finance House tripped 1 fil. Kuwait Investment Co gained 4 fils whereas National Investment House and Coast Investment Co paused at 92.5 fils and 31.4 fils respectively. Al Mal Investment edged 0.1 fil into green.
KAMCO added 2.5 fils and International Financial Advisors trimmed 0.6 fil before closing at 25.4 fils. Securities House Co took in 0.9 fil and Osoul Investment dialed up 2 fils.
Noor Financial Investment Co dialed up 0.4 fil and Amwal nudged 0.6 fil into green. Unicap tripped 1 fil to 57 fils and Al Imtiaz clipped 2 fils. Al Deera Holding and Ekttitab Holding stood pat at 18 fils and 25.5 fils respectively.
Mabanee Co rallied 11 fils to 680 fils extending an identical gain in the last session while National Real Estate Co dialed up 2 fils on back of 1.4 million shares. Salhiya Real Estate took in 1 fil and Mazaya Holding trimmed 0.7 fil.
The market was week during last week. The main index closed lower in three of the five sessions shedding 20 points week-on-week and has gained 75 so far during the month. Boursa Kuwait, with 176 listed stocks, is the second largest market in the region.
In the bourse related news, Independent Petroleum Group (IPG) second quarter profits soared 16.2 percent to KD 2.23 million from KD 1.92 million in the same period last year.