(MENAFN- Arab Times) Kuwait stocks edged marginal higher on Tuesday extending the gains to the second session in a row. The index ticked 2.5 pts up in choppy trade led by select blue chips and speculative gains in some of the mid-caps.
The trading floor sentiment was cautious even as investors fresh indicators before taking up fresh positions.
The market wound up at 6,303.60 points after slipping briefly into red earlier in the day, while weighted index rose 1.87 points to 444.45. The volume slipped below the 100 million mark to hit the lowest level since end of February. 87.89 million shares changed hands - a 42.6 percent slide from the day before.
KIPCO rallied 25 fils adding to the robust gains in the day before and wound up at KD 0.400. The counter saw 4.45 million shares change hands. National Investment Co, a Kharafi Group unit, rose 10 fils on back of 3.48 million shares. It closed at KD 0.290.
Zain climbed 20 fils extending an identical rise in the previous session. It ended at KD 1.380 and mustered a volume turnover of over 11 million shares. Zain saw its net profit soar 445 percent to KD 1.063 bn in 2010 . The profit is inclusive of the capital gain of KD 770.3 million from the sale of Zain Africa to Bharati Telecom.
Agility rose 5 fils to settle at KD 0.390 after trading 2.72 million shares. The stock had edged 1.35 percent up during March but has slid 27.88 percent since start of the year. The logistics major has said earlier in March that it is eying 44 percent stake in Iraqi mobile operator Korek Telecom in partnership with France Telecom.
Wataniya Telecom was stagnant at KD 1.760 paring moderate losses earlier in the session. The company has posted a net profit of KD 78,020,000 and earnings per share of 155.68 fils in 2010 and the Board of Directors has recommended a cash dividend of 50 fils.
The bourse opened choppy but slipped into red in early trade. The index bottomed at 6,295.6 points and clawed back amid buying in select blue chips. It move sideways around the opening mark as sentiments turned brittle. The market slipped again in the final minutes before pulling up into the positive territory at close.
Soared
The top gainer of the day, United Industries Co soared 7.8 percent to KD 0.110 while KIPCO stood next with a 6.6 percent gain. Investors Holding Group Co shed 6.25 percent, the steepest decliner of the day, while Abyaar continued to top the volume with 11.2 million shares.
The market spread was almost evenly poised. 29 stocks advanced while 27 closed lower. Of the 91 counters active on Tuesday, 28 closed flat. 1,910 deals worth KD 29.75 million were transacted - a 44.9 percent drop in value from the previous session.
The sectoral indices closed mostly in red. Banking sector rose 0.4 percent and the top performer investment climbed 1 percent. Insurance eased 0.3 percent while real estate and industrials were down 0.2 percent and 0.4 percent respectively. Services fell 0.1 percent and food sector followed suit. Non-Kuwaiti dropped 0.7 percent.
Among other advancers, Kuwait Cement Co rose 10 fils to close at KD 0.620 and United Industries Co was up 8 fils with a volume of 2.4 million shares. Kuwait Building Materials Manufacturing Co gained 4 fils whereas National Industries Group eased 5 fils to end at KD 0.255. The counter saw 2.26 million shares change hands.
Al Tamdeen Investment Co ticked 2 fils higher to KD 0.190 while Al Maal Investment Co was unchanged at 34.5 fils. Kuwait Financial Centre (Markaz) rose 2 fils to settle at KD 0.124. The company had posted a 222 percent rise in net profit to KD 8.17 million, while earnings per share chalked 18 fils. The Board of Directors has proposed cash dividend of 10 percent and 5 percent bonus share.
Global Investment House eased 1.5 fils to KD 0.037 after trading over 3 million shares whereas Bayan Investment crept 1.5 fils higher. National Real Estate Co added 2 fils whereas Mabanee Co closed flat. The company has logged KD 18.6 million net profits in 2010, up from KD 15.3 million in the year before. The Board of Directors has decided to distribute a dividend of 10 percent of the profit.
On the downside, United Gulf Bank dropped 15 fils to KD 0.365 with thin trading and Kuwait International Bank was down 5 fils at KD 0.310. The counter saw 2.49 million shares change hands. National Bank of Kuwait held the ground unchanged at KD 1.160 after vacillating in a 20 fils range intra-day.
Gulf Bank too was unchanged at KD 0.500 whereas Commercial Bank of Kuwait was not traded during the session. Burgan Bank edged 5 fils higher to KD 0.490 whereas Kuwait Finance House held the ground steady at KD 1.060.
Ahli Bank too did not move in either direction and Ahli United Bank rose 10 fils to close at KD 0.720. Ahli United Bank’s operating income for 2010 stood at KD 77.4 million. The total assets clocked KD 2,454,300,000 by end of 2010 while total equity stood at KD 265.3 million. The weighted average capital adequacy of according to Basel 2 chalked 18.76 percent.
National Industries Co shed 20 fils and and Qurain Petrochemical Industries Co eased 2 fils to KD 0.176. Mushrif Trading and Contracting Co added 8 fils on back of 1.7 million shares while Kuwait Food Co (Americana) closed flat at KD 1.480. Kuwait Gulf Links too held the ground unchanged at KD 0.128.
The bourse had been mixed so far during the week and has gained 8 points from last week’s closing mark. However it had declined 186 points during whole of March and is trading 9 percent lower year-to-date. KSE, with 215 listed companies, is the second largest bourse in the region.
In the bourse related news, Coast Investment and Development Co has logged a net profit of KD 5,799,505 and earnings per share of 10 fils in whole year 2010 rebounding from a net loss last year of KD 13,699,997 and loss per share of 24 fils.
Kuwait China Investment Co has posted a net profit of KD 4,619,031 and earnings per share of 5.8 fils as against last year’s profit of KD 8,683,587 and earnings per share of 10.9 fils. The Board of Directors recommended no dividends.
Combined Group Contracting Co has announced its results for its fiscal year 2010 ended 31/12/2010. The company posted a net profit of KD 8,893,965 and earnings per share of 101.52 fils as against net profit of KD 8,194,745 and earnings per share of 94.15 fils in the previous year. The Board of Directors recommended a cash dividend of 70 percent and 10 percent bonus shares.
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 of 37.26 fils in the year before. The Board of Directors recommended no dividend payout for the fiscal year.
Salhiya Real Estate Co has posted a net profit of KD 10,203,837 and earnings per share of 26 fils as against a net profit of KD 7,248,686 and earnings per share of 9 fils during last year. The Board of Directors has recommended a cash dividend payout of 20 percent.
By: John MathewsÂ
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