Kuwait bourse extends retreat; volume shrinks

NBK drops 10 fils; Zain unchanged

KUWAIT CITY, March 27: Kuwait stocks sagged on Monday extending the retreat to second straight session. The bourse pared back steeper earlier losses to close 8.25 pts down at 7,032.26 points. The broader sentiment however was mixed on absence of catalysts.

The KSX 15 benchmark slipped 2.81 points to 9,47.8 pts while weighted index eased 0.72 pts to 4,21.39 points. The volume turnover meanwhile dipped to a three-week low following Sunday’s uptick. 2,63.42 million shares changed hands — a 11 pct fall from Sunday.

The sectors closed mostly in red. Industrials outpaced the rest with 1.30 pct gain whereas oil and gas dived 2.37 percent, the biggest loser of the day. In terms of volume, real estate clocked the highest market share of 39.48 pct while financial services followed with 35.27 percent contribution.

In the individual shares, sector bellwether National Bank of Kuwait dropped 10 fils to 680 fils after trading 2.5 million shares whereas Commercial Bank pulled up from last session’s trough with a 25 fils jump to 455 fils. NAPESCO slid 40 fils to KD 1.220.

Zain was unchanged at 450 fils off early highs and Wataniya Telecom (Ooredoo) shed 20 fils extending an identical fall in the day before. Kuwait Telecommunications Co (VIVA) rose 10 fils and Agility was down 10 fils at 650 fils.

Burgan Bank seesawed narrowly before closing flat at 330 fils and Kuwait Finance House followed suit. KFH has registered a fourth quarter net profit of KD 42.13 million and KD 165.23 million during the 2016 fiscal year.

The market opened on flat note and edged higher in early trade. The main index scaled the day’s highest level of 7,046.13 pts and retreated thereafter as sentiment turned sour. It drifted sideways before resuming the slide to bottom at 6981.75 pts and managed to claw back most of the losses at close.

Top gainer of the day, Automated Systems Co vaulted 8.93 pts to 305 fils and Gulf Finance Co jumped 8.2 percent to stand next. Kuwait Insurance Co slid 8.33 pct, the steepest decliner of the day and Sokouk Holding topped the volume with over 27 million shares.

Mirroring the day’s downtick, the market spread was skewed towards the losers. 37 stocks advanced whereas 65 closed lower. Of the 142 counters active on Monday, 40 closed flat. 5862 deals worth KD 26.9 million were transacted — a 8.5 pct drop in value from the day before.

National Industries Group eased 2 fils to 132 fils and Gulf Cable gave up 5 fils to settle at 485 fils. Kuwait Portland Cement Co was flat at KD 1.080 and Kuwait Cement Co gained 10 fils. Heavy Engineering Industries and Shipbuilding Co stood pat at 210 fils.

Kuwait Foundry Co climbed 5 fils to 320 fils while Boubyan Petrochemical Co and NICBM paused at 570 fils and 216 fils respectively. Shuaiba Paper Industries Co gained 15 fils and Al Qurain Petrochemical Co added 5 fils.

Slipped

Hilal Cement Co rose 10 fils to 218 fils and Equipment Holding Co inched 1 fil into red. ACICO Industries was unchanged at 300 fils and Salbookh slipped 4 fils to 76 fils. KCPC was up 4 fils at 164 fils.

ALAFCO fell 2 fils to 240 fils and Jazeera Airways climbed 10 fils. Zimah Holding stalled at 56 fils and Mezzan Holding was up 20 fils at KD 1.020.

Humansoft Holding was unchanged at KD 3.100 and KPPC clipped 2 fils before settling at 52 fils. Burgan Well Drilling Co fell 5 fils to 89 fils and Eyas gained 15 fils.

Kuwait and Gulf Link Transport Co eased 1 fil to 68 fils and KGL Logistics Co gave up 2 fils to end at 75 fils. OSOS was down 4 fils at 158 fils. and Al Rai Media Group stood pat at 178 fils.

In the banking sector, Gulf Bank was flat at 250 fils off slight early highs with a volume of over 1 million shares while Ahli United Bank gave up 5 fils to end at 465 fils.

Kuwait International Bank dialed down 2 fils and Boubyan Bank added 5 fils to close at 410 fils. Warba Bank slipped 5 fils to 260 fils whereas Al Ahli Bank was not traded during the session.

KIPCO rose 5 fils to 495 fils whereas Kuwait Investment Co and National Investment Co paused at 102 fils and 116 fils respectively. International Financial Advisors stood pat at 44.5 fils after trading 6.5 million shares.

Kuwait Financial Centre ( Markaz) was unchanged at 106 fils while Noor Financial Investment Co and KMEFIC eased 1fil each. Securities House Co dialed down 2 fils and Securities Group Co closed flat. Tamdeen Investment Co and Amwal gained 5 fils each.

Bayan Investment Co fell 0.5 fil to 47.5 fils whereas Unicap and Al Deera Holding clipped 1 fil each. Al Imitiaz dipped 4 fils to 188 fils and Sokouk Holding added 1.5 fils on back of over 27 million shares.

Kuwait Real Estate Co and National Real Estate Co were unchanged at 70 fils and 108 fils respectively while Mazaya Holding took in 2 fils. Mabanee Co held ground at 830 fils off early highs and Marakez dialed up 2 fils.

The market has been trending lower so far during the week and has shed 10 points in last two sessions. It has gained 250 points from start of the month and is trading 22.34 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.