Kuwait index extends advance to third day–KFH gains 5 fils; KIPCO flat

09/06/2016 02:34 AST

Kuwait stocks eked modest advance on Wednesday extending the gains to third straight session. The bourse, after a tame start, closed 13.1 points higher helped by some banks and select mid-caps. The sentiment was cautiously positive even as oil prices held above the $ 50 mark.

The KSX 15 benchmark rose 3.39 points to 819.47 pts trimming the month’s losses to 8 points while weighted index edged 1.45 pts higher. The volume turnover meanwhile eased slightly after rebounding in the last session. 77.03 million shares changed hands – a 2.55 pct rise from Tuesday.

The sectors closed mostly in the green turf. Basic materials outshone the rest with 1.05 pct gain whereas consumer goods slipped 0.26 percent, the biggest loser of the day. In terms of volume, financial services notched the highest market share of 38.8 pct while real estate stood next with 30.3 percent contributions.

Among notable movers, Kuwait Finance House rose 5 fils on back of 1.3 million shares to KD 0.470 and Burgan Bank followed suit to end at KD 0.330. Mabanee Co climbed 10 fils to KD 0.800 and Gulf Insurance Group jumped 30 fils with thin trading.

Zain was unchanged at KD 0.345 off early lows whereas Wataniya Telecom (Ooredoo) was not traded during the session. Kuwait Telecommunications Co (VIVA) was up 10 fils at KD 0.940 and logistics major Agility stood pat at KD 0.480.

KIPCO was unchanged at KD 0.510 and Bayan Investment Co followed suit to end at 35 fils. The company has incurred a first quarter net loss of KD 199,725 and loss per share of 0.55 fils.

The market opened on tame note and moved sideways in early trade. The price index slipped briefly into red past the mid-session to plumb the day’s lowest level of 5379.67 points. However it clawed back in the final minutes to close with modest gains.

Top gainer of the day, City Group vaulted 8.62 pct to KD 0.630 and Gulf Finance Co climbed 7.8 percent to stand next. Ekttitab Holding dropped 4.17 percent, the steepest decliner of the day and Coast Investment and Development Co topped the volume with 8.1 million shares.

Reflecting the day’s gains, the winners outnumbered the losers. 38 stocks advanced whereas 23 closed lower. Of the 111 counters active on Wednesday, 50 closed flat. 1718 deals worth KD 7.57 million were transacted – a 30.3 pct surge in value from the day before.

National Industries Group took in 2 fils to close at 114 fils while Gulf Cable climbed 5 fils to KD 0.405. RISCO was flat at KD 0.300 and Kuwait Portland Cement Co was up 10 fils at KD 1.000. HEISC rose 4 fils to 170 fils and ACICO Industries Co s pulled up from early losses to close flat at KD 0.300.

Jazeera Airways gained 20 fils whereas ALAFCO gave up 6 fils to settle at 200 fils. Kuwait Food Co ( Americana) surrendered early gains to close flat at KD 2.040.

Paused

Boubyan Petrochemical Co paused at KD 0.520 and Kuwait Foundry Company dialed up 2 fils. The company has penciled a net profit of KD 592,402 and earnings per share of 3.85 fils in the January- March period.

NICBM was unchanged at 210 fils and QPIC climbed 6fils to 208 fils. Automated Systems Co and Humansoft Holding Co were steady at KD 0.370 and KD 1.360 respectively while Qurain Petrochemical closed 6 fils in green.

PAPCO paused at 106 fils and KGL Logistics Company followed suit. The company has logged a net profit of KD 1.83 million and earnings per share of 3.11 fils in the 3-month period ending March 31, 2016 .

Zima Holding inched 0.5 pts lower whereas Mezzan Holding Co closed flat at KD 1.1060. The company has reported a net profit of KD 5.19 million and earnings per share of 16.68 fils in the quarter ending March 31, 2016 as against net profit of KD 5.45 million and earnings per share of 17.52 fils in the same period last year.

In the banking sector, bellwether National Bank of Kuwait was unchang

Arab Times