Kuwait bourse ends in red as volume shrinks

Americana tumbles 200 fils; NAPESCO gains

By John Mathews

Arab Times Staff

KUWAIT CITY, July 30: Kuwait stocks slipped into red territory on Sunday as it opened the week on a dour note. The price index dropped 10.07 pts in choppy trade to 6,795.24 points as sentiment turned soggy. The heavyweights remained largely subdued.

The KSX 15 benchmark dipped 5.48 pts to 948.94 points while weighted index edged 1.78 pts lower. The volume turnover meanwhile shrank for the second consecutive session as it slipped below the 100 million mark. Over 58 million shares changed hands — a 42.32 pct dip from Thursday.

The sectors closed mixed. Oil and gas outpaced the rest with 0.48 pct gain whereas consumer goods slid 2.98 percent, the biggest loser of the day. In terms of volume, financial services notched the highest market share of 40.5 percent and real estate stood next with 25.97 pct contribution.

In the individual shares, Kuwait Food Co (Americana) tumbled 200 fils to KD 1.900 taking the month’s losses to 550 fils and Kuwait Finance House fell 2 fils to 548 fils after trading 2.6 million shares. Mabanee Co extended last session’s losses with a 5 fils dip to 790 fils.

Zain fell 3 fils to 454 fils after trading over 2 million shares and Ooredoo was down 10 fils at KD 1.160. Kuwait Telecommunications Co (VIVA) inched 1 fil up to 806 fils and Agility clipped 1 fil to settle at 850 fils.

National Bank of Kuwait was flat at 703 fils and Burgan Bank too did not budge from its earlier close of 361 fils. has posted a profit of KD 21.07 million in the second quarter, a 24.6 pct increase from same period last year. In the first half, earnings rose 23.7 percent to KD 38.88m. The market opened firm but slipped into red in early trade. The main index held up briefly and dipped further before drifting sideways past the mid-session. It sank to the day’s lowest level of 6,773.63 pts in the final minutes before clawing back some of its losses at close.

Top gainer of the day, Ajwan Gulf Real Estate Co rallied 9.23 pct to 71 fils while National Cleaning Co climbed 8.33 pct to stand next. Metal and Recycling Co dived 15.6 pct, the steepest decliner of the day, Gulf Finance Co topped the volume with over 7 million shares.

Mirroring the day’s downtick, the losers outnumbered the winners . 2213 deals worth KD 8.39 million were transacted — a 39 pct drop in value from the day before.

National Industries Group took in 1 fil after trading over 2 million shares and Shuaiba Industrial slipped 5 fils to 290 fils. Boubyan Petrochemical Co and Al Qurain Petrochemical Co eased 1 fil each whereas Educational Holding Group gained 10 fils.

Jazeera Airways dipped 10 fils to 490 fils while ALAFCO and UPAC gave up 2 fils each to settle at 348 fils and 698 fils respectively. Heavy Engineering Industries and Shipbuilding Co eased 1 fil to 206 fils.

Gained

NAPESCO gained 20 fils and Humansoft Holding jumped 50 fils to KD 4.250. The company has recorded a 19.9 pct rise in second quarter profits to KD 6.03 million from Q2 of previous year. In the first half of 2017, the earnings rose 17.3 percent to KD 13.17 million.

Equipment Holding Co dialed up 1 fil and Burgan Well Drilling Co clipped 2 fils. OSOS was unchanged at 141 fils and Al Rai Media Group fell 1 fil to 120 fils. Mezzan Holding was up 5 fils at 915 fils extending the last session’s gains.

In the banking sector, Gulf Bank inched 1 fil into green whereas Commercial Bank and Boubyan Bank stood pat at 350 fils and 417 fils respectively. Al Ahli Bank was not traded during the session.

AlMutahed rose 7 fils to 427 fils and Burgan Bank held ground at 361 fils. Kuwait International Bank took in 1 fil and Warba Bank was down 3 fils at 266 fils.

KIPCO and National Investment Co were flat at 370 fils and 113 fils respectively whereas International Financial Advisors edged 0.5 fils up. Coast Investment Co and Bayan Investment Co trimmed 1.2 fils each to wind up at 42.8 fils and 50.1 fils respectively

KFIC and UNICAP rose 0.5 fils each whereas KMEFIC paused at 28 fils. The company has recorded a profit of KD 163,510 in Q2,rebounding from a loss of KD 730,370 in same period last year. During the first half, the losses narrowed by 69.2 percent year-onyear to KD 406,200.

Securities House Co stalled at 44.9 fils and Al Mal Investment Co clipped 0.6 fils. Osoul Investment Co inched 1 fil up and Noor Financial Investment Co took in 0.4 fils. Al Imtiaz fell 1 fil to 166 fils.

National Real Estate Co and Salhiya Real Estate Co dialed down 1 fil each whereas AREEC gained 4 fils. REMAL was unchanged at 68.5 fils and Kuwait Real Estate Co took in 0.4 fil.

The market was largely upbeat during the week. The main index closed higher in four of the five sessions and added 24 points week-on-week. It has gained 34 points from start of the month and is trading 18.22 pct higher year-to-date. KSE, with 188 listed companies, is the second largest bourse in the region.

In the bourse related news, 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.

National International Holding Co recorded a 66.2 percent dip in the second quarter profit to KD 828,500 from same period last year. In the first half of 2017, the profits tumbled 56 percent to KD 1.2 million.

Aqar Real Estate Investment’s second quarter profits surged 27 pct to KD 350,410 mln from same period last year helped by increase of rent revenues. The revenues rose 23.4 percent to KD 687,320 in the first half while operating revenues climbed 21.6 percent to KD 987,070.

S&P Global Ratings has affirmed “A-/A-2” long- and short-term counterparty credit ratings on Gulf Bank. The rating agency also revised its outlook on the bank to “positive” from “stable”.

National Real Estate’s (NREC) ordinary general meeting has approved raising its capital to KD 150 million, by issuing 1.5 billion shares at a nominal value of 100 fils each. The company’s current capital stands at KD 98.97 million.

Educational Holding Group has posted a 13 pct drop in profits in the quarter ended 31 May 2017. The profits totaled KD 1.14 million as against KD 1.31 million in the same period last year.