(MENAFN- Arab Times) Kuwait stocks pulled higher on Wednesday, halting the two-day decline . The price index added 9.28 pts in choppy trade to end at 6,156.68 points led by some of the mid and small caps. The banks were mostly muted and other heavyweights closed narrowly mixed even as investors eye fresh catalysts to buoy the market sentiment.
The KSX 15 measure rose 3.75 pts to 1,014.85 points trimming the month's losses to 3 points while weighted index edged 1.25 pts higher. The volume turnover meanwhile rebounded close to the 100 million mark after receding in the last session. 95.28 million shares changed hands - a 48.60 percent surge from Tuesday.
The sectors closed mixed. Technology outpaced the rest with 1.99 pct jump whereas consumer goods shed 1.46 pct, the biggest loser of the day. In terms of volume, real estate clocked the highest market share of 55.64 pct while financial services and industrials trailed far behind with 21.4 percent and 7.5 pct contributions respectively.
Among the day's movers, ACICO Industries gained 20 fils and NICBM followed suit to settle at KD 0.230. Independent Petroleum Group Co added 10 fils and Gulf Cable followed suit after heading south in the previous session.
Bourse heavyweight Zain was up 5 fils at KD 0.420 on back of 1.3 million shares whereas Wataniya Telecom held the ground steady at KD 1.160. Kuwait Telecommunications Co ( VIVA) shed 20 fils whereas Agility was flat at KD 0.660 after trading over 1 million shares .
Rose
Sector bellwether National Bank of Kuwait rose 10 fils on back of 4.3 million shares and investment major KIPCO too was up by same measure recouping the losses in the previous session. National Investment Co dialed up 4 fils to settle at KD 0.128.
The market opened weak and edged up in early trade. The key gauge moved sideways below the opening mark before bottoming at 6,139.7 pts amid selling in select counters. It nudged up past the mid-session to hold briefly above the red before retreating again and managed to close with marginal gains.
Top gainer of the day, NICBM vaulted 9.52 pct to 239 fils while Securities Group Co was close behind with over 9 pct jump. Livestock Trading and Transport Co slid 8.4 percent, the steepest decliner of the day and Al Dar National Real Estate Co topped the volume with over 47 million shares.
Reflecting the day's uptick, the winner outnumbered the losers. 43 stocks advanced whereas 36 closed lower. Of the 124 counters active on Wednesday, 45 closed flat. 1,993 deals worth KD 13.3 million were transacted - a 115.2 pct surge in value from the day before.
Naional Industries Group was flat at KD 0.164 and Kuwait Cement Co followed suit to end at KD 0.360. Kuwait Food Co (Americana) paused at KD 2.800. The company has posted a net profit OF KD 17.3 million in the first three months of 2015, down from KD 18.1 million in the same period last year.
RISCO rose 5 fils to KD 0.390 whereas Kuwait Foundry Co and Kuwait Portland Cement Co held steady at KD 0.265 and KD 1.220 respectively. Boubyan Petrochemicals Co. stagnated at KD 0.580.
Automated Systems Co paused at KD 0.495 while Zima Holding pulled 4 fils lower. Mezzan Holding Co was unchanged at KD 1.040 and Mashaer Holding dialed up 2 fils. Kuwait and Gulf Links Transport Co and KGL Logistics both inched 1 fils higher.
ALAFCO took in 2 fils and Jazeera Airways was up 5 fils at KD 0.475. The airline has posted a net profit of KD 3 million in the first quarter of 2015, an increase of 44.6% from the same quarter last year. ALAFCO was unchanged at KD 0.218.
Equipment Holding Co was flat at 68 fils and Educational Holding Group followed suit. The company has posted net profit of KD 4.62 million and earnings per share of 18.9 fils in nine months ended May 31, 2015 as compared to net profit of KD 3.26 million and earnings per share of 13.4 fils in the same period last year.
Stagnated
In the banking sector, Gulf Bank and Ahli United Bank stagnated at KD 0.270 and KD 0.560 respectively and Burgan Bank too did not budge from its earlier close of KD 0.420. Commercial Bank of Kuwait and Al Ahli Bank were not traded during the session.
Kuwait International Bank paused at KD 0.240 and Kuwait Finance Hose followed suit to close at KD 0.630 off early highs. Boubyan Bank dialed down 5 fils to settle at KD 0.420.
Kuwait Investment Co clipped 2 fils and Securities House Co followed suit to close at 53 fils. KMEFIC and Al Qurain Holding were flat at 35 fils and 12 fils respectively while Bayan Investment Co inched 0.5 fils up. Gulf Insurance Group climbed 10 fils to KD 0.630.
National Real Estate Co and Mabanee Co stagnated at 95 fils and KD 0.970 respectively and Mazaya Holding Co followed suit. Real Estate Asset Management Co gained 6 fils whereas Aayan Real Estate Co nudged 2 fils lower. The bourse was been mixed so far during the week and has shed 27 points in last three sessions. The main index has dropped 46 points from start of the month and is trading 5.8 pct lower year-to-date. KSE, with 213 listed companies, is the second largest bourse in the region.
In the bourse related news, Combined Group Contracting Co has been granted approval by Capital Markets Authority for its request to buy back or sell up to 10% of own shares over a period of 6 months .
National Industries Company has won the permission of Capital Markets Authority to buy back or sell a maximum of 10% of its shares for a period of 6 months. Aqar Real Estate Investments Co has got the nod of Capital Markets Authority for its request to buy back or sell up to 10% of own shares over a period of 6 months.
Privatization Holding Co. has received the approval of Capital Markets Authority for its request to buy back or sell up to 10% of own shares over a period of 6 months.
Gulf Insurance Group (GIG) has registered a net profit of KD 3.7 million or 20.86 fils per share, for the financial period ended March 31, 2015 € an increase of 22.8 percent from the same period last year. Shareholder equity grew 3.7 pct to KD 82.5 million.
Tamdeen Investment Co has recorded 18.5 pct rise in its earnings of the first quarter of 2015. It stood at KD 7.25 million compared to KD 6.12 million in the Q1 of 2014 while earnings per share came in at 25.75 fils.
Warba Bank has recorded a net profit of KD 115,000 and earnings per share of 0.12 fils in 2014, rebounding from net loss of KD 3.709 million and loss per share of 3.71 fils in 2013.
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.