Kuwait equities drop in lacklustre session

Ooredoo tumbles 40 fils; KIPCO flat

KUWAIT CITY, April 22: Kuwait stocks slipped into red on Sunday extending its losses to fourth straight session. The All Shares Index fell 8.55 points in lackluster trade to 4788.93 pts weighed by Ooredoo even as the broader market remained mixed.

The Premier Market rose 3.21 pts to 4,776.40 pts whereas Main Market shed 28.83 pts. The volume turnover meanwhile plunged to a two-week low following last session’s rebound. 43.9 million shares changed hands – 44.7 pct dip from the last session

The sectors closed mostly in red. Healthcare outshone the rest with 0.44 pct gain whereas telecommunications shed 1.7 percent, the worst performer of the day. Volume wise, financial services notched the highest market share of 33.6 pct and banks followed with 2.8 percent contribution.

Among the individual performers, Mabanee Co dipped 8 fils to 670 fils while NAPESCO slid 15 fils to 720 fils. Al Ahli Bank shed 15 fils and reversing whereas UPAC extended Thursday’s gains with 21 fils jump to 739 fils.

Zain dropped 4 fils to 415 fils and Ooredoo tumbled 40 fils to 875 fils. Agility climbed 8 fils to 835 fils and Kuwait Telecommunications Co (VIVA) was down 15 fils at 720 fils and Agility climbed 8 fils to 835 fils recouping last session’s losses.

National Bank of Kuwait rose 4 fils to 727 fils on back of 1.2 million shares. The bank’s profits rose 9.6 pct year-on-year in the first quarter of 2018 to KD 93.6 bln from KD 85.4 billion in the same period last year . Earning per share clocked 15 fils for the quarter and assets rose 7.8% to KD 26.78 bln.

The market opened firm and pulled lower in early trade. The index drifted lower in choppy trade as sentiemnt turned soggy and plumbed the day’s lowest level of 4777 points past the mid-session. It however clawed back some of the losses before closing slightly in red.

Top gainer of the day, Yiaco soared 10 pct to 132 fils and Wethaq Takaful climbed 9.6 percent to stand next. QIC slumped 9.7 pct, the steepest decliner of the day and Manazel topped the volume with 6.5 million shares.

Mirroring the day’s downtick, the losers outnumbered the winners. 46 stocks advanced whereas 50 closed lower. Of the 117 counters active on Sunday, 21 closed flat. 2270 deals worth KD 7.6 million were transacted – a 35.9 percent plunge in value from the day before

National Industries Group was unchanged at 154 fils and Mezzan Holding gave up 5 fils to close at 720 fils. Gulf Cable was unchanged at 395 fils while Heavy Engineering Industries and Shipbuilding Co rallied 15 fils on back of 1.6 million shares.

Jazeera Airways clipped 2 fils and ALAFCO dipped 8 fils to 360 fils. Equipment Holding Co took in 1.1 fils while Educational Holding Co and Kuwait National Cinema Co stood pat at 315 fils and KD 1.099. YIACO Medical jumped 12 fils to 132 fils.

Soared

Kuwait Foundry Co took in 2 fils and Human Soft Holding soared 29 fils. The company has posted a 9.7% rise in profits to KD 7.83 million during the first quarter of 2018 .The increase in quarterly profits is attributed to higher revenues from company’s expanding business.

Al Qurain Petrochemical Co eased 1 fil and Boubyan Petrochemical dropped 5 fils to 820 fils. Combined Group Contracting Co and Inovest dialed up 1 fil each while Kuwait Portland Cement Co added 3 fils. Al Rai Media Group edged 1 fil higher.

In the banking sector, Gulf Bank and Boubyan Bank took in 2 fils each whereas Burgan Bank held ground at 258 fils. Kuwait International Bank rose 3 fils to 224 fils and Burgan Bank paused at 258 fils.

Kuwait Finance House eased 1 fil to 516 fils after trading 1.3 million shares and Warba Bank was up 4 fils at 242 fils. Commercial Bank was flat at 383 fils while Al Mutahed and Ahli United Bank paused at 292 fils and 182 fils respectively.

KIPCO staganted at 275 fils and National Investment Co clipped 0.9 fil before settling at 100 fils. Noor Financial Investment Co and Kuwait Investment Co took in 1 fil each whereas International Financial Advisors tripped 0.7 fil.

Coast Investment Co dialed up 1 fil and Securities House Co edged 1.4 fils into red. KMEFIC and Unicap added 1.2 fils each while Al Mal Investment Co trimmed 0.3 fil. KFIC eased 0.40 fil to 44.5 fils.

Sokouk Holding rose 2.4 fils to 44 fils while Bayan Investment Co inched 1.1 fils into red. Al Madina dialed up 0.7 fil and Tamdeen Investment Co stood pat at 280 fils. Amwal fell 0.8 fil to 48 fils and Al Imtiaz ticked 1 fil up. Wethaq Takaful closed 2.8 fils in green.

Kuwait Real Estate Co fell 0.1 fil to 47.8 fils and United Real Estate Co gave up 3 fils. Mazaya Holding inched 0.1 fil up and Marakez edged 0.7 fil higher. National Real Estate Co eased 1 fil to 116 fils.

The market was mixed during last week. The index closed lower in three of the four sessions retreating 12 pts week-on-week and is trading 211 pts down from start of the month. Boursa Kuwait, with 176 listed stocks, is the second largest market in the region.

In the bourse related news, Educational Holding Group has incurred a loss of KD 2.66 million during the first six months that ended on 28 February 2018 as compared to profits of KD 3.18 million in the corresponding period last year. The operating profits stood at KD 3.77 million , a 17% higher increase fro the same period in 2017.

Independent Petroleum Group (IPG) has registered a 26.7 pct jump in profits to KD 2.18 million during the first quarter of 2018 compared to the same period of 2017. Earnings per share stood at 12.03 fils as against 11.58 fils in first quarter of last year

Shuaiba Industrial’s profits surged 101.4 pct to KD 419,000 during the fourth quarter of 2017 compared to the same period in the previous year. During 2017, the earnings ticked up by 1.6 percent to KD 1.9 million from KD 1.87 million in year before. The board has recommended a cash dividend of 17% or 17 fils per share for FY17.

Kuwait Cement Co has posted a 15.4 pct drop in profits during the fourth quarter of 2017 to KD 4.94 mln from KD 4.28 million in last quarter of 2016. During fiscal year 2017, earnings were down 11.8 percent to KD 17.19 million . The board members have recommended a cash dividend of 20 pct or 20 fils per share for 2017.

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.