Kuwait bourse plunges 125 points amid weak sentiments, volume drop

Kuwait stocks recommenced its slide on Monday after treading water in the previous session. The index plunged 125 points in broad decline amid bearish sentiments led by Kuwait Finance House and Wataniya Telecom even as most of the frontline stocks closed lower. The investors refrained from taking up fresh positions and a sell-offs were witnessed in select counters. The bourse slid 1.7 percent to settle at 7368.8 points after hemorrhaging over 600 points in the previous week. Wataniya Telecom sank 3.5 percent, reversing the modest gains on Sunday. It closed at KD 1.640 with low volume turnover. The Islamic lender too dropped 3.5 percent after trading in a 40 fils range. It ended at KD 1.100 posted over 2.5 million shares in volume. Zain however bucked the trend to climb 40 fils adding to the robust gains on Sunday. The scrip closed at KD 1.160 with a volume turnover of almost 27 million shares.

The market had managed to eke a slight gain on Sunday, stemming the 5 day slide helped by bargain buying in select counters. The index had eroded 8.8 percent since the start of the month and is down 3.2 points year-to-date. The bourse had witnessed a strong rally starting in April till mid June helped by rising oil prices and positive global and regional cues. Among the other frontline stocks, Agility dropped 20 fils after posting strong gains on Sunday. It winded up at KD 1.000 after fluctuating in a 30 fils range during the session. National Industries Group shed 15 fils reversing the gain in the earlier day. The scrip closed at KD 0.410 after trading in a narrow range. It had rallied 3.5 percent in June and is up over 8 percent since the start of the year.

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