Kuwait market declines 43.3 points snapping 4-day gains; volume drops

04/05/2010 00:00 AST

Kuwait stocks reversed on Monday, snapping the four-day gains. The index slid 43.3 points in slightly choppy trade as profit taking weighed on select heavyweights and some of middle level stocks in the industrial and services sectors. The trading floor sentiments were cautious even as investors wait for positive cues to buoy the market sentiments.

The market wound up at 7266.40 points, trimming steeper losses intra-day while the weighted index fell 1.04 points to close at 437.08 points. The volume dropped 8.5 percent to hit a fresh year’s low of 147.72 million. The market liquidity has been anemic since the start of April after the conclusion of Zain deal.

Most of the sectors ended in red. Banking sector fell 0.6 percent while investment was down 0.7 percent. Real estate edged 0.3 percent up, the top performer of the day, whereas services slid 0.8 percent. Industrials shed 1.1 percent and the biggest loser food sector slid 1.2 percent. “There is no support from institutions. The market looks like it is on a trading halt,” Reuters quoted a Kuwait trader who asked not to be identified. “Any news that Agility has settled on a decent amount will help drive markets higher but its very tough to take a bet on that,” says the trader.

The market has been largely mixed so during the week. It has shed 30 points from close of last week and had lost 233 points during whole of April. It had rallied 155 points in March primarily on the Zain stake sale impetus. The bourse is trading 5 percent up year-to-date.

Among the heavyweight losers, Agility dropped 20 fils, reversing the modest gain in the previous session. It closed at KD 0.620 after trading 1.55 million shares. Wataniya Telecom too was down 20 fils after stagnating on Sunday. It wound up at KD 1.700. The telecom service provider has logged a profit of $56.2 million in the first three months of the current year- a rise 5.9 percent year-on-year. Zain bucked the trend to add 20 fils extending an identical rise in the previous session. It closed at KD 1.360 and posted a volume turnover of 1.86 million. The top gainer, Mazaya Holding Co jumped 9.4 percent to close at KD 0.116 and Arkan Al Kuwait Real Estate Co climbed 8.6 percent to stand next. Educational Holding Co tumbled over 9 percent – the steepest decliner of the day, while Jazeera Airways topped the volume with 10.26 million shares changing hands.

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Arab Times