(MENAFN - Arab Times) KUWAIT CITY, Feb 14: Kuwait stocks dived on Monday adding to the losses in the last two sessions. The index slid 54.8 points in a broad decline as investors exited positions amid bearish sentiments. The market mood has been dampened by the lackluster earnings and speculative trade too was muted amid increasing wariness over the market direction.
The bourse wound up at 6,660.9 points after holding briefly above the red earlier in the session while the weighted index slid 8.14 points to settle at 465.89. The volume meanwhile swelled after slipping below the 100 million mark on Sunday. 122.4 million shares changed hands during the session - a 23.1 percent surge from the day before.
Among the prominent decliners, National Bank of Kuwait dived 40 fils adding to the fall in the previous session. It closed at KD 1.360 and saw 5.3 million shares change hands. Ahli United Bank slid 30 fils to KD 0.830 reversing the modest gains on Monday.
Kuwait Finance House plunged 60 fils. It wound up at KD 1.160 after trading 5.64 million shares. The lender has logged a net profit of KD 106 million in whole of 2010 compared with KD 118.7 million in 2009. The board has recommended a 20 percent dividend and bonus of 8 free shares for every 100 held.
Bourse heavyweight Zain was down 20 fils at KD 1.420 after stagnating on Sunday. The investment consortium led by Al Riyadh Group has made an offer to buy the Zain's Saudi Arabian assets according to media reports. Earlier in January the Saudi based Kingdom Holding and Bahrain Telecommunications Co had made offers for the 25 percent stake in Zain Saudi.
Agility eased 5 fils to end at KD 0.450 and saw 1.09 million shares change hands while Wataniya Telecom bucked the trend to add 20 fils after posting an identical drop in the previous session. Kuwait Gulf Links eased 2 fils to settle at KD 0.154. The stock had risen 1.28 percent in January but has slipped 4 fils since the start of the month.
National Investment Co, a Kharafi Group unit, dropped 15 fils to close at KD 0.415 while KIPCO eased 5 fils to settle at KD 0.415. The firm has hiked its stake in United Real Estate Co to 60.4 percent, thereby making it a subsidiary of the firm.
Aref Investment Group and Al Maal Investment Co fell 2 fils each while International Financial Advisers held the ground unchanged at KD 0.063 after vacillating in a narrow range. IFA has obtained the approval of Central Bank of Kuwait on February 9, 2011 to purchase or sell up to 10 percent of own issued shares.
Slipped
National Industries Group slipped 10 fils to KD 0.335 while Kuwait Pipes Industries and Oil Services Co was down 5 fils at KD 0.250. Kuwait Cement Co eased 10 fils to settle at KD 0.670 whereas RISCO added 4 fils to end at KD 0.250. Gulf Cables plunged 80 fils to close at KD 1,740 while Heavy Engineering Industries and Shipbuilding Co gained 10 fils.
The market opened flat and saw a brief uptick before slipping into the red in early trade. The index continued to erode in a linear decline as investors exited positions across the sectors amid bearish sentiments. It hit the day's lowest level of 6653 points in the final minutes but managed to pare the losses slightly at close.
The top gainer of the day, Safat Real Estate Co spiked 10 percent to KD 0.022 while Pearl of Kuwait Real Estate Co climbed 7.2 percent to close at 29.5 fils. Al Safwa Group Co slid 6.9 percent - the biggest decliner of the day, while ERESCO topped the volume with 17.1 million shares changing hands.
Mirroring the day's decline, the losers outnumbered the gainers. 17 stocks advanced while 66 closed lower. Of the 114 stocks traded on Monday, 24 closed flat. 2349 deals worth KD 31.077 million were transacted - a 91.1 percent surge in value over previous session.
The sectoral indices closed mostly in the red. Banking sector dropped 2.3 percent, the biggest loser of the day, while investment fell 0.7 percent. Real estate eased 0.3 percent and industrials slipped 1.2 percent. Services and food sector shed 0.7 percent and 0.3 percent respectively while non-Kuwaiti was down 0.3 percent.
The bourse had been weak so far during the week and has shed 78 points since Sunday's opening mark.
It has dived 199 points since start of the month after sliding 96 points in January. KSE, with 215 listed companies, is the second largest bourse in the region.
In the banking sector, Gulf Bank dropped 10 fils after stagnating in thee previous session. It closed at KD 0.530 with a volume turnover of 2.02 million. Gulf Bank logged a net profit of KD19.1million and earnings per share of 8 fils in 2010, recovering from a loss of KD 28.1million and loss per shares of 12 fils in the previous s year. Commercial Bank too lost 10 fils whereas Al Ahli Bank was not traded during the session.
Eased
Kuwait International Bank eased 5 fils whereas Burgan Bank was down 10 fils at KD 0.540. The lender had dropped 3.77 percent in January and has eroded 10 fils since the start of the month. Boubyan Bank dropped 20 fils after posting modest rise in the previous session.
Bayan Investment Co inched 1 fils higher while Global Investment Co fell 1 fils to settle at KD 0.052 after trading 1.08 million shares. Al Safat Investment Co was down 2 fils at KD 0.061 with a volume of 6.76 million whereas ALAFCO was flat at KD 0.395. The company has earned KD 21.8 million during October-December quarter - a ten fold increase from same period last year.
Automated Systems Co eroded 14 fils while Kuwait Co For Process Plant Construction and Contracting slid 25 fils. Aref Energy lost 6 fils to end at KD 0.122 and Combined Group Contracting Co dived 40 fils. Kuwait Food Co (Americana) was flat at KD 1.540.
Meanwhile, Kuwait Stock Exchange has suspended the following companies from trading for failing to publish the financial results within the stipulated time period: Al Safat Global Holding Company, Al Dar Investment Company, International Leasing and Investment Company, Villa Moda Lifestyle Company, International Investment Group, Network Holding Company, Securities House Company, Gulf International Investment Company, International Investor Company, Aayan Leasing and Investment Company, Al Dar National Real Estate Company and Educational Group Holding Company.
In the bourse related news, Abyaar Real Estate Development Co incurred a net loss of KD 4,996,913 and loss per share of 4.77 fils in full year 2010 as against net loss of KD 29,247,558 and loss per share lof 37.26 in the year before. The Board of Directors recommended no dividend payout for the fiscal year.
MENA Real Estate Co has logged a net loss of KD 634,612 and loss per share of 3.26 fils in the nine-month period ended Dec 31, 2010 as compared to net profit of KD 628,154 and earnings per share of 3.21 fils.
Al-Safat Investment Co. has incurred a net loss of KD 5,003,611 and loss per share of 6.48 fils for the nine months ended on September 30 as against a net loss of KD 6,747,994 and loss per share of 8.74 fils.
