(MENAFN- Arab Times) Kuwait stocks swung lower Monday, partly reversing the gains in the previous session. The index dropped 23.29 pts in choppy trade to settle at 7,786.72 points weighed by speculative selling in some of the mid and low caps. Most of the frontline stocks closed mixed. The KSX 15 benchmark climbed 5.78 pts to 1,080.59 pts and is up 28 pts from start of the year whereas weighted index edged 0.22 pts higher to 461.12 pts. The volume turnover meanwhile ticked higher after receding in the last 3 sessions. 327.94 million shares changed hands - a 7.35 pct increase from Sunday. It had soared above the 700 million mark on Jan 16 to hit a multi-month high
The sectors closed mostly in the red. Industrials outperformed the rest with 0.32 percent upswing whereas real estate shed 0.89 pct, the biggest loser of the day. In terms of volume, industrials garnered the highest market share of 29.52 pct while financial services and real estate came in next with 27.08 percent and 27.01 pct respectively. Among the losers, Advanced Technology dropped 20 fils to KD 0.910 and Hilal Cement followed suit to wind up at KD 0.230. Kuwait Portland Cement slid 40 fils and Salhia Real Estate Co gave up 20 fils to close at KD 0.370
The Energy House slipped 4 fils and Al Salam Group Holding Co fell 6 fils to KD 0.116. IFA Hotels and Resorts eased 5 fils to close at KD 0.275 and Gulf Petroleum Investment Co too was down by same measure. Market heavyweight Zain bucked the trend to gain 10 fils whereas Wataniya Telecom held steady at KD 1.840 off early lows. Zain has earned KD 216.44 million and chalked an earnings per share of 56 fils in 2013 and the Board of Directors has recommended a cash dividend of 50%. Agility climbed 20 fils to close at KD 0.680 and the stock is trading 10 fils down year-to-date.
Slippe
The market opened weak and slipped into red in early trade. The index moved sideways briefly before resuming the downswing as sentiment turned negative. It hit the day's lowest level of 7,776.05 pts almost half way into the session and edged up before closing slipping again in the final minutes.
Top gainer of the day, KAMCO rallied 7.81 pct to close at KD 0.138 and National Company For Consumer Industries climbed 6.94 pct to stand next. Pearl For Real Estate Co dived 8.2 percent, the steepest decliner of the day and Mayadeen topped the volume with over 55 million shares.
Reflecting the day's decline, the losers outled the winners. 40 stocks advanced whereas 55 closed lower. Of the 143 counters active on Monday, 48 closed flat. 6,114 deals worth KD 33.50 million were transacted - a 7.62 pct fall in value from the day before
On the flip side, Jazeera Airways gained 10 fils recouping the drop in the day before and Gulf Cable followed suit. Boubyan Petrochemical Co rose 10 fils to KD 0.690 whereas Mabanee Co jumped 20 fils to KD 1.180. Metal and Recycling Co ticked 2 fils higher
Kuwait Food Co (Americana) was flat at KD 2.500 and KGL Logistics Co followed suit. The company has won the approval of Capital Markets Authority to its request to buy back or sell up to 10% of own shares over a period of 6 months commencing date of approval
ACICO Industries Co was unchanged at KD 0.275 and Kuwait Cement Co followed suit. The company has completed the 2nd phase of subscription in increasing its capital by 7%, which was fully covered. The company's capital after the increase stands at KD 73.330 million.
National Industries Group, the flagship company of Kharafi Group frittered away slight early gains to end flat at KD 0.228 and Kuwait Gulf Links too did not budge from its earlier close of KD 0.104. ALAFCO paused at KD 0.260.
Ease
In the banking sector, National Bank of Kuwait was unchanged at KD 0.940 after clocking a volume of over 4 million whereas Gulf Bank added 5 fils. Al-Ahli Bank of Kuwait eased 5 fils. The bank has recorded a net profit of KD 35.42 million and earnings per share of 22 fils in the year ending Dec 31, 2013 as compared to KD 30.027 million profit and earnings per share of 19 fils in 2012. The Board of Directors has recommended a cash dividend of 13%
Ahli United Bank dropped 10 fils to KD 0.740 whereas Kuwait International Bank closed 5 fils higher. Burgan Bank gained 10 fils whereas Commercial Bank of Kuwait was not traded during the session.
Kuwait Finance House paused at KD 0.800 with a volume of 4.3 million whereas Boubyan Bank shed 10 fils. The bank has registered a net profit of KD 13.408 million and earnings per share of 7.29 fils in the year ending Dec 31, 2013 and the Board of Directors has recommended 7 pct bonus shares as dividend
Kuwait Investment Co slipped 4 fils to KD 0.170 and International Financial Advisors clipped 3 fils. National Investment Co stagnated at KD 0.154 of early lows and KIPCO was down 10 fils at KD 0.650
Kuwait Financial Centre took in 2 fils and KMEFIC added 3 fils. Al Mal Investment Co inched 1 fil up whereas Bayan Investment closed flat. KAMCO gained 10 fils whereas Osoul Investment Co flunked 1 fil
The bourse has been mixed so far during the week and has added 31 pts in the last two sessions. The price index had rallied 205 points during whole of January after dropping 185 points in December. KSE, with 213 listed companies, is the second largest bourse in the region
In the bourse related news, Mashaer Holding has posted a net profit of KD 3.64 million and earnings per share of 20 fils during 2013 as against KD 4.31 million profit and earnings per share of 25 fils in the year before. The Board of Directors has recommended cash dividend of 15%
City Group has logged a net profit of KD 5.46 million and chalked an earnings per share of 48 fils in the year ending Dec 31, 2013, up from KD 3.57 million profit and earnings per share of 32 fils in the year before. The Board of Directors have recommended cash dividend of 35%
Refrigeration Ind and Storage Co, has announced a net profit of KD 2.72 million and earnings per share of 30.80 fils in 2013 as against KD 2.41 million profit and earnings per share of 27.30 fils the year before. The Board of Directors has recommended a cash dividend of 10%
Kuwait Building Materials Mfg has recorded a net profit of KD 581,231 and earnings per share of 19.17 fils in the year ending Dec 31, 2013, up from KD 411,453 profit and earnings per share of 13.57 fils in 2012. The Board of Directors has recommended 10 percent cash dividend.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.