(MENAFN- Arab Times) Kuwait stocks retreated Monday, snapping the two-day advance. The index dropped 38.15 points as profit taking weighed on select mid-caps. However some of the blue chips managed to post modest gains despite downbeat sentiments. KSX 15 edged 0.66 points lower to 963.68 points whereas weighted index eased 1.04 points.
The volume turnover tapered after rising in the last two sessions. 289.20 million shares changed hands - down 13.3 percent from Sunday. Sectowise. Parallel markets outpaced the rest with 7.43 point gain while technology was the worst performer declining 17.61 points. Gulf Cables slipped 20 fils to KD 1.160 and Kuwait Pipes eased 2 fils. Combined Group Contracting Co shed 20 fils while IFA Hotels and Resorts eroded 25 fils to settle at KD 0.280. Kuwait Gulf Links was down 4 fils at KD 0.102. The company has incurred KD 1.986 million losses or 7.52 fils loss per share in Q1.
Agility held the ground unchanged at KD 0.375 after trading 1.6 million shares whereas National Industries Group slipped 4 fils to KD 0.212. NIG has incurred net losses of KD 28.76 million for 2011 - almost a 50 percent year-on-year jump from KD 19.2 million while loss per share rose to 23 fils from 8 fils.
Wataniya Telecom gained 20 fils to settle at KD 2.060. The stock is unchanged from start of the month while year-to-date, it is down 20 fils . Bourse heavyweight Zain rose 10 fils to KD 0.700 recouping the loss on Sunday. The telecom service provider's first quarter net profit rose 2 percent year-on-year to KD 70.9 million while revenue stood at KD 326 million.
Lower
Among other losers, Hayat Communications Co fell 8 fils to KD 0.108 and Kuwait Food Co (Americana) closed 20 fils lower at KD 1.280. The company has logged a net profit of KD 16.119 million and earnings per share of 41.2 fils in the first quarter of 2012. Shuaiba Industrial Co eased 10 fils to KD 0.190. The market opened low but crept higher in early trade. The index hit the day's highest level of 6115.9 points and retreated thereafter as trading floor sentiment turned negative. It drifted lower in the second half to bottom at 6058.9 points before paring the losses slightly at close. Top gainer of the day, Kuwait Clinic spiked 9.09 percent to 60 fils whereas Al Dar National Real Estate Co climbed 8.77 percent to stand next. Safat Real Estate Co slid 11.9 percent, the steepest decliner of the day, whereas Gulf Finance House continued to top the volume with 98.22 million shares.
Reflecting the day's downswing, market spread was skewed towards the losers. 24 stocks gained while 62 closed lower. Of the 119 counters active on Monday, 32 closed lower. 4783 deals worth KD 19.91 million were transacted - down 21.6 percent in value from day before. "I think that there's a profit taking activity," Reuters quoted Safaa Zbib, head of research at Kuwait & Middle East Financial Investment Co, adding the majority of Sunday's trading focused on buying. "In addition, banks stocks are heavily impacting on the market," he added. In the banking sector, National Bank of Kuwait was flat at KD 1.040 paring early losses. The lender has won Central Bank of Kuwait's approval to buy back or sell 10 percent of its issued shares maximum for additional six months. Gulf Bank too closed unchanged at KD 0.405.
Ahli United Bank held steady at KD 0.880 whereas Al Ahli Bank was not traded during the session. Commercial Bank added 20 fils with thin trading. The lender has posted a 75-percent drop in first-quarter net profit. The earnings in the three-month period came in at KD 329,000 as compared with KD 1.33 million in the same period of 2011. Kuwait International Bank stagnated at KD 0.260 and Burgan Bank fell 5 fils to KD 0.430. The stock has added 10 fils from start of the day, while year-to-date, it has erased 40 fils. Kuwait Finance House was down 10 fils at KD 0.720 after trading 1.21 million shares and Boubyan Bank followed suit.
Flat
Investment major KIPCO was flat at KD 0.325 and National Investment Co too did not move in either direction. International Financial Advisers inched 0.5 fils lower with a volume of 6.07 million shares. IFA has posted first quarter loss of KD 4.7 million or loss per share of 7.09 fils and during whole of 2011, it lost KD 20.4 million. Kuwait Financial Centre Co (Markaz) eased 2 fils and KMEFIC ticked 1 fils higher. KAMCO shed 8 fils to close at KD 0.240 and Al Tamdeen Investment Co stagnated at KD 0.162. National Real Estate Co closed flat at KD 0.126 and Mabanee Co followed suit. The company's first quarter net profit rose to KD 6,017,316 from KD 5,776,462 in the year before while earning per shares came in at 9.9 fils.
The bourse has been mixed so far the week and has retreated 26.9 points in last two sessions. The index had slid 121.46 points so far during the month and is trading 5 percent higher year-to-date. KSE, with 213 listed companies, is the second largest bourse in the region. In the bourse related news, Noor Financial Investment Co has posted a net loss of KD 15,153,392 and loss per share of 21 fils in the first quarter as against net loss of KD 30,623,757 and loss per share same of 42 fils in the same period last year. Al Madina for Finance and Investment Co has incurred a Q1 net loss of KD 585,684 and loss per share Fils 1.52 and net loss of KD 429,972 and loss per share of 1.12 fils in 2011 first quarter.
KSE has suspended 31 listed companies from trading for failing to publish their financial results in stipulated time. The majority of the suspended firms where in the investment sector. National Petroleum Services logged net profit of KD 392,730 and earnings per share of 7.48 fils in the January-February period - down from KD 725,806 and 13.83 fils in the year before. Qurain Petrochemical Industries Co has registered net profit of KD 33,015,699 and earnings per share of 30.14 fils in the first three months of 2012. The Board of Directors recommended a dividend payout of cash 15 percent. Tamdeen Real Estate has earned KD 2,216,894 in first quarter of 2012 while earnings per share clocked 6 fils. This compares with net profit of KD 1,718,908 and 4.6 fils EPS in 2011.
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