KSE index slides 43.9 points amid bearish sentiments; volume tapers

08/06/2010 00:00 AST

Kuwait stocks pulled lower on Monday, weighed by bearish sentiments. The index dropped 43.9 points extending the decline to the second straight session. Most of the blue chips lost ground even as investors exited positions to limit their losses. The trading floor continued to be largely subdued and speculative buying was witnessed only in select industrials.

The benchmark wound up at 6664.7 points while weighted index fell 3.52 points to settle at 406.4 points. The volume fell further to new lows. It tapered 10 percent to fall below the 100 million mark at 98.99 million. The market liquidity has been alarmingly thin in the past weeks in absence of cues to bolster the market confidence. The market has slipped below the 7000 mark on May 23.

The sectoral indices swung mostly towards the red. Banking sector fell 0.3 percent while investment sector suffered the most sliding 1.6 percent. Insurance sector closed flat while real estate was down 1 percent. Industrials climbed 0.4 percent whereas services shed 0.7 percent. Food dropped 1.1 percent while non-Kuwaitis closed 0.4 percent lower.

The day’s decline was led by National Bank of Kuwait which dropped 20 fils adding to an identical fall in the previous session. It settled at KD 1.160. The lender had shed 6.45 percent in May and is trading 40 fils higher since the start of the year.

Agility slid 25 fils after stagnating on Sunday. The logistics service provider has posted a 52.5 percent fall in first quarter net profit. It stood at KD 17.6 million — less than half of the KD 37 million earned in the same period last year. Wataniya Telecom held the ground unchanged at KD 1.680 while Zain continues to be suspended from trading in the bourse.

The market opened weak and plunged in early trading as investors offloaded positions in wake of negative market mood. The index hit the day’s lowest level of 6641.4 points and plateued thereafter as sentiments turned brittle. It closed with moderate losses.

Reflecting the downbeat mood, the losers vastly out led the gainers. 13 stocks advanced while 70 closed lower. Of the 107 counters active on Monday, 23 closed unchanged. 2307 deals worth KD 15.69 million were transacted — down 5.9 percent in value over previous session. The top gainer of the day, Al-Dar National Company spiked 10.20 percent to KD 0.027 while Arkan Real Estate Co climbed 6.25 percent. Privatization Holding Co (KPPC) slid 8.6 percent, the worst performer of the day, while Al-Safwa topped the volume with over 11 million shares changing hands.

The bourse has been markedly negative so far during the week and has shed 67 points from Sunday’s opening level. The index has eroded 36 points so far during the month and is trading 3 percent lower year-to date. It had lost 8.22 percent during May.

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Arab Times