Kuwait’s stocks extend gains in volatile trade

Boubyan Bank rallies 15 fils; VIVA slips

KUWAIT CITY, April 11: Kuwait stocks pulled higher on Wednesday as it extended its gains to second session. The All Shares Index climbed 15.11 points in volatile trade to 4,831.86 pts led by banks and some of the mid-caps. The broader sentiment however remained soggy.

The Premier Market jumped 22.93 pts to 4,812.25 points and Main Market ticked 1.64 pts higher to 4,865.70 points. The volume turnover meanwhile rose further to hit a fresh month’s high. 87.2 million shares changed hands – a 20.8 pct jump from the day before.

The sectors closed mostly in green. Basic materials outpaced the rest with 0.72 percent gain whereas insurance sank 3.4 pct, the worst performer of the day. Volume wise, financial services mustered the highest market share of 39.8 pct and telecommunications trailed with 22.3 pct contribution.

Among the standout performers, Boubyan Bank jumped 15 fils to 463 fils extending last session’s gains while Commercial Bank was up 5 fils at 455 fils. Heavy Engineering Industries and Shipbuilding Co rallied 23 fils on back of 2.4 million shares.

Zain took in fils on back of 5.7 million shares to close at 426 fils and Ooredoo extended last session’s steep losses with a 5 fils drop to 910 fils. Kuwait Telecommunication Co (VIVA) tumbled 44 fils to 726 fils and Agility gave up 5 fils to close at 845 fils.

National Bank of Kuwait rose 3 fils on back of 7.2 million shares. The bank’s profits rose 9.6 pct yearon-year in the first quarter of 2018 to KD 93.6 bln. Earning per share clocked 15 fils for the quarter.

The market opened firm and edged higher in early trade. The index continue to climb in choppy trade to peak and 4836 pts and headed south thereafter as selling kicked in. It plumbed the day’s lowest level of 4817 points in the final hour before clawing back to close with modest gains.

Top gainers of the day, Wethaq Takaful and Al Aqaria climbed 9.9 pct each to close at 28.7 fils and 25.4 fils respectively whereas Marakez slid 11.48 percent, the steepest decliner of the day. Manazel topped the volume with over 17 million shares.

Reflecting the day’s gains, the winners outnumbered the losers. 53 stocks advanced whereas 39 closed lower. Of the 109 counters active on Wednesday, 17 closed flat. 3127 deals worth over KD 18 million were transacted – a 72 pct surge in value from the day before.

Kuwait Foundry Co and Gulf Cable were unchanged at 249 fils and 404 fils respectively whereas Equipment Holding Co dialed up 0.40 fil. Kuwait Portland Cement took in 2 fils before closing at KD 1.065.

Jazeera Airways rose 5 fils to 650 fils whereas ALAFCO rebounded from Tuesday’s shallow trough with a 18 fils jump to 379 fils. KCPC added 4 fils and KPPC edged 0.60 fil up to 58 fils.

Boubyan Petrochemical Co gained 12 fils on back of over 1 million shares to close at 767 fils and Al Qurain Petrochemical paused at 345 fils. UPAC slipped 4 fils partly erasing last session’s strong gains.

Dived

Humansoft Holding dived 30 fils to KD 3.950 and IFA Hotels and Resorts stood pat at 100 fils. FutureKid gained 9.5 fils and Automated Systems Co held ground at 154 fils.

NAPESCO dialed up 2 fils and KGL Logistics inched 0.3 fil into green.Al Rai Media Group inched 1 fil into green and Mezzan Holding stood pat at 740 fils.

In the banking sector, Kuwait Finance House took in 1 fil with a volume of 4.3 million shares while Al Ahli Bank and Gulf Bank were unchanged at 344 fils and 251 fils respectively.

Burgan Bank was flat at 279 fils and Kuwait International Bank clipped 2 fils. Al Mutahed rose 5 fils to 306 fils and Warba Bank added 3 fils. Ahli United Bank was up 2 fils at 185 fils.

KIPCO was unchanged at 279 fils and GFH took in 2 fils to close at 110 fils with thin trading. Kuwait Investment Co rose 3 fils to 135 fils and National Investment Co gained 6 fils on back of 1.6 million shares. International Financial Advisors edged 0.4 fil up to 26.9 fils.

KAMCO fell 1 fil to 67 fils and Bayan Investment Co dialed up 0.7 fil. Coast Investment Co took in 0.2 fil and Securities House added 0.3 fil to close at 44.5 fils. Al Deera Holding crept 0.5 fil into green and Al Mal Investment close 0.800 higher.

Noor Financial Investment rose 0.7 fil to 0.700 whereas Amwal Investment gave up 3.9 fils. Al Imtiaz paused at 127 fils and Kuwait Insurance Co dipped 6 fils. Warba Insurance Co tripped 1.5 fils and Ahleia Insurance Co slumped 48 fils.

Kuwait Real Estate was flat at 48.3 fils and Mabanee Co slipped 4 fils to 690 fils. Mazaya Holding clipped 3.5 fils and Salhiya Real Estate inched 1fil into green. United Real Estate added 2 fils to end at 62 fils.

The market has been mixed so far during the week and has climbed 20 pts in last four sessions. The All Shares Index is down 169 pts from start of the month. Boursa Kuwait, with 176 listed stocks, is the second largest market in the region.

In the bourse related news, Independent Petroleum Group (IPG) has registered a 26.7 pct jump in profits to KD 2.18 million during the first quarter of 2018 compared to the same period of 2017. Earnings per share stood at 12.03 fils as against 11.58 fils in first quarter of last year

Zain has reported a a 9.4% increase in fourth quarter profits to KD 38 million as compared to Q4 of 2016. In 2017 fiscal year, the earnings were marginally up by 0.8 percent to KD 160 million . the board has recommended a cash dividend of 35 fils per share for FY 2017

Shuaiba Industrial’s profits surged 101.4 pct to KD 419,000 during the fourth quarter of 2017 compared to the same period in the previous year. During 2017, the earnings ticked up by 1.6 percent to KD 1.9 million from KD 1.87 million in year before. The board has recommended a cash

dividend of 17% or 17 fils per share for FY17.

Kuwait Cement Co has posted a 15.4 pct drop in profits during the fourth quarter of 2017 to KD 4.94 mln from KD 4.28 million in last quarter of 2016. During fiscal year 2017, earnings were down 11.8 percent to KD 17.19 million . The board members have recommended a cash dividend of 20 pct or 20 fils per share for 2017.

Aqar Real Estate Investments’ fourth quarter profits dropped by 14.7 pct from the same period last year to to KD 732,000. During fiscal year 2017, earnings saw a marginal year-on-year rise of 1.1 percent to KD 1.76 million . The board of directors has recommended cash dividend of 6 pct or 6 fils per share for FY17.