06/10/2010 00:00 AST
The price index of Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) kept in the red zone till closing time on Tuesday, ending the trading session at the 6,946.1 point level, down one point, while the weighted index came to 465.93 points, recording a drop of 0.45 points.
Trades came to 5,404 transactions, bringing value to 57.9 million Kuwaiti dinars, and volume to 260.5 million shares.
As for sectors performance, the indices of six sectors were in red, while three were in the green, with one remaining unchanged. Gainer share of the day was that of Areef Investment Group, while biggest loser was the stock of Ajwan Gulf Real Estate Company.
KSE was down 5.3 points at 9:15 a.m. on Tuesday, reading 6,941.8 points, while the weighted index was down 0.75 points to 465.63 points. The session saw 677 trades at the time at KD 12.4 million, involving 42.7 million shares.
KSE was down 4.7 points, reaching 6,942.4 points close to midday Tuesday, while the weighted index reached 466.14 points after losing 0.24 points.
Trades came to 3,227 transactions, worth about KD 39.6 million, with volume coming to 159.6 million shares.
Kuwait's Zain gained 1.5 percent, matching Sunday's high, as investors continued to speculate on the telecom firm's deal with Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat).
"Zain's market prices dropped initially as the company was giving details of the deal. There is still no clarification from major shareholder group Kharafi but traders are speculating," said Essa Al-Hasawi, assistant manager at Zumorroda Investment Co in Kuwait.
Egypt's Orascom Telecom (OT) defied a regional market decline on Tuesday, soaring five percent after its executive chairman agreed to merge most of his telecom assets with Russia's Vimpelcom.
Orascom surged in more than double its recent average trading volume of 17.6 million shares after the stock was suspended on Monday before the deal was announced. Executive Chairman Naguib Sawiris said OT minority shareholders would have their rights respected in the planned Vimpelcom tie-up and gave the deal a 90 percent likelihood of success.
Egypt's top mobile firm by subscribers Mobinil, which is owned 34.7 percent by Orascom, climbed 1.3 percent. "OT caused euphoria among investors," said Alia Khalil, a Senior Equity Trader at Pharos Securities. "People were awaiting the deal and when it finally happened, many started buying."
The index closed 0.1 percent higher, with around three stocks falling for each that rises, after reaching its highest intraday level since May 13.
In Dubai, Arabtec jumped to a 16-week high, lifting the index after the construction firm received a 1.33 billion US dollar order in Saudi Arabia. Arabtec gained five percent, accounting for half of the trade volume in the market. "Arabtec had a good run and it boosted the market," said Musa Haddad, Head of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) equity desk at National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD).
"In general, the Dubai market looks strong and I still see it closing this year in positive territory. Dubai could reach up to 1,800 and then we will see how it reacts." Property shares also gained, with Emaar Properties up 1.1 percent and Union Properties climbing 1.5 percent.
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