Kuwait market kicks off week with robust gains
KUWAIT CITY, Oct 11: Kuwait stocks swung higher on Sunday following last week’s winning spree. The All Shares Index, after a shaky start, climbed 52.23 points to 5,776.98 points led by blue chips even as the overall mood remained positive.
The Premier Market rallied 60.9 points to 6,433.73 pts while Main Market gained 34.67 points. The BK 50 Main index was up 36.29 points to 4,525.33 pts. The volume turnover meanwhile rose from the second straight session. Over 395 million shares changed hands – up 4 pct from the day before.
The sectors closed mostly in green turf. Basic Materials outshone the rest with 2.2 pct gain whereas Utilities shed 0.30 percent, the worst performer of the day. Volume wise, Real Estate topped with 121.5 million shares while in value Banking sector was ahead with KD 37.3 million.
Among the standout performers, National Bank of Kuwait rallied 9 fils on back of 7.7 million shares while Kuwait Finance House added 4 fils after pushing 13.4 million shares taking the month’s gains to 49 fils. EK Holding sprinted 16 fils to 381 fils with thin trading while Humansoft Holding paced 54 fils to close at KD 2.750 fils.
Zain rallied 11 fils to 625 fils on back of 6.6 million shares while Ooredoo stood pat at 626 fils off early highs. stc slipped 8 fils to 847 fils and logistics major Agility dialed up 2 fils on back of 2.7 million shares. KIPCO inched 1 fil higher to 162 fils on back of over 3 million shares whereas Boursa gave up 8 fils.
The market opened wobbly and slipped into red in early trade. The main index plumbed the day’s lowest level of 5,700 pts and pivoted north amid renewed buying in select counters. It continued to rise and wound up with robust gains.
Top gainer of the day, Thuraya rallied 12 pct to 69.9 pct and Gulf Insurance jumped 9.5 percent to stand next. Masaken skidded 13 percent , the steepest decliner of the day and Investors Holding topped the volume with 70.2 million shares.
Reflecting the day’s gains, the winners outnumbered the losers. 65 stocks advanced whereas 48 closed lower. Of the 128 counters active on Sunday, 15 closed flat. 13,448 deals worth KD 63.5 million were transacted during the session.
National Industries Group climbed 6 fils to 187 fils on back of 15.8 million shares while Mezzan Holding was up 4 fils at 620 fils. Boubyan Petrochemical Co rose 5 fils to 583 fils and Al Qurain Petrochemical Co sprinted 13 fils to 310 fils on back of 3.6 million shares. Integrated Holding took in 1 fil and Aznoula eased 1 fil to 329 fils.
Jazeera Airways edged 1 fil up to 567 fils and ALAFCO clipped 1 fil. Mashaer Holding and Soor dialed up 1 fil each whereas Oula Fuel paced 4 fils to close at 115 fils. Inovest added 2.2 fils and Combined Group Contracting Co took in 1 fil on back of over 3 million shares. Gulf Petroleum Investment paused at 20.9 fils.
Kuwait Cement Co and Gulf Cable fell 4 fils each to close at 231 fils and 705 fils respectively while Kuwait Portland Cement was down 14 fils at 774 fils. Gulf Cement Co eased 1.3 fils to 33.7 fils and IFA Hotels and Resorts ticked 0.2 fil into green. Energy Holding edged 0.6 fil down to 22.9 fils.
Kuwait Foundry Co slipped 9 fils to 255 fils and Kuwait National Cinema Co shed 24 fils. Educational Holding Co dialed down 2 fils and Equipment Holding Co was flat at 16 fils. Automated Systems Co eased 0.2 fil to 71.8 fils and Warbacap trimmed 0.5 fil. ACICO Industries eased 1 fil to 104 fils and NICBM inched 1 fil higher.
In the banking sector, Gulf Bank added 2 fils on back of 11.3 million shares and Burgan Bank followed suit to end at 225 fils. Kuwait International Bank crept 1 fil into green after pushing 29 million shares and Warba Bank rose 3 fils to 276 fils. Boubyan Bank took in 1 fil and Ahli United Bank gained 5 fils.
The market was upbeat during the past week. The main index closed higher in all the five sessions gaining 278 points week-on-week. It had scaled 331 points from start of the month and is down 509 points yearto-date.