(MENAFN- Arab Times) Kuwait stocks pulled higher Sunday after slipping into a shallow trough in the previous session. The index climbed 34.38 points to 5,896.94 points on back of strong buying in some of the mid and low caps while the heavyweights closed mostly lower. The sentiment was cautiously upbeat as the trading floor is primed for bout of profit taking after the gains in August.
The KSX 15 benchmark however shed 6.78 points and weighted index edged 1.22 points lower to settle at 3989.96 points. The volume turnover receded further after ticking lower in the previous session. 257.85 million shares changed hands - down 11.96 percent from Thursday. KSE has been upbeat during second half of August and has rallied 2.94 percent during the whole month.
Sector wise, healthcare out led the rest gaining 2.53 percent whereas technology dropped 0.77 percent, the biggest decliner of the day. In terms of volume, financial service notched the highest market share of 48.77 percent and real estate stood next with 21.83 percent.
Gulf Glass Manufacturing Co spiked 50 fils to KD 0.800 and Advanced Technology Co followed suit to wind up at KD 0.700. ACICO Industries Co rose 4 fils and Heavy Engineering Industries and Shipbuilding Co was up by same measure. Kuwait Foundry Co added 5 fils to end at KD 0.295.
Bourse heavyweight Zain held the ground unchanged at KD 0.690 after pulling lower in the previous session while Wataniya Telecom dropped 20 fils to KD 2.540. The stock has been upbeat after it resumed trading in the bourse on 22nd Aug and has rallied 260 fils during last month. Agility stagnated at KD 0.420 after trading 1.3 million shares.
Buying
The market opened on choppy note but gained momentum in early trade as investors chased some of the mid and low caps on speculative buying The index moved sideways thereafter as sentiment turned brittle. It reached the day' highest level of 5,898.73 points in the final minutes before easing slightly at close. Top gainer of the day, Kuwait Taiba jumped 8.33 percent to 65 fils while Advanced Technology climbed 7.69 percent to stand next. Gulf North Africa Holding Co shed 5.88 percent, the steepest decliner of the day, and Mayadeen topped the volume with 29.68 million shares.
The market spread was skewed towards the gainers. 56 stocks advanced whereas 27 closed lower. Of the 125 counters active on Sunday, 42 closed flat. 4847 deals worth KD 15.5 million were transacted - down 30.29 percent in value from previous session.
"Our market continues to lack foreign institutional investors with long-term views," Reuters quoted Fouad Darwish, head of brokerage at Global Investment House. "I don't think this is sustainable unless bigger stocks are a part of this. Profit-taking will happen and will have more of an impact."
Among other gainers, KGL Logistics Co rose 9 fils and Kuwait Gulf Links was up 3 fils on back of 1.11 million shares. The company has posted a 55 percent year-on-year decline in losses to KD 3.85 million during the first half of 2012 while in the second-quarter, losses narrowed by 52.2 percent year-on-year to KD 1.86 million. National Cleaning Co gained 6 fils with a volume of over 1 million shares and Kuwait Pipes edged 2 fils higher. Kuwait National Cinema added 20 fils with thin trading. The company has registered net profit of KD 3.30 million and earnings per share of 33.11 fils in the first six months of 2012.
On the downside, Kuwait Food Co (Americana) retreated 20 fls to KD 1.360 erasing the gains in the last session while National Industries Group edged 2 fils lower. The stock has slipped 10 fils during whole of August and is trading 64 fils lower year-to-date.
In the banking sector, National Bank of Kuwait fell 10 fils to KD 0.980 whereas Gulf Bank was unchanged at KD 0.400 off early lows. Ahli United Bank stagnated at KD 0.900 and Burgan Bank followed suit. The bank's net profit climbed 23 percent to KD 31.2 million in the first half 2012 while earnings per share stood at 21.1 fils.
Flat
Kuwait International Bank ended flat at KD 0.246 whereas Commercial Bank of Kuwait was down 30 fils at KD 0.680. The Fitch Ratings affirmed the lender's Long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'A+' with a Stable Outlook, and Viability Rating (VR) at 'BB-'.
Kuwait Finance House eased 10 fils to KD 0.680 and Boubyan Bank flat lined to close at KD 0.600. The bank has logged net profit of KD 4.8 million in the first half of 2012, a 9.9% increase from year-ago period while revenue climbed 23.7%. The lender's provisions surged 99.5% year-on-year to KD 10.5 million.
Commercial Facilities Co dropped 5 fils and International Financial Advisers inched 0.5 fils lower after trading over 10 million shares. National Investment Co gained 6 fils after edging lower in the previous session. KIPCO closed flat at KD 0.365.
KMEFIC rose 2 fils to 42 fils and First Investment followed suit. Al Mal ended unchanged at 39 fils whereas Bayan Investment was down 0.5 fils at 35 fils. The company has posted a KD 3.95 million losses and loss per share of 11.02 fils in the January-June period as compared with KD 6.37 million and 17.81 fils per share in year-earlier period.
The bourse was buoyant during last week. It closed higher in 3 of the 5 sessions and added 84 points week-on-week. It has climbed 142.2 during the whole of August and points from start of the month and is trading 1.82 percent higher year-to-date. KSE, with 213 listed companies, is the second largest bourse in the region. In the bourse related news, Burgan Well Drilling Co. posted a net profit of KD 359,071 and earnings per share of 1.71 fils in quarter ending June 30 as against profit of KD 253,359 and earnings per share of 1,21 fils in the same period last year. Al-Madar Finance and Investment Co. has incurred net loss of KD 527.29 and loss per share of 1.48 fils in the first quarter of 2012. This compares with KD 3.117.832 loss and 8.77 fils LPS in 2011 Q1.
International Finance announced its has logged net profit of KD 432,656 and earnings per share of 0.54 fils in the first half of the year rebounding from KD 4,609,831 loss and loss per share of year 7 fils in the same period last year.
Al Madina for Finance and Investment has logged a net loss of KD 614,242 and loss per share of 1.6 fils in the first siex months of the year as compared to loss of KD 1,597,043 and 4.16 fils LPS in the same period last year.
Meanwhile, the bourse earlier in August suspended the trading of the following companies' shares for failing to announce the financial results within the stipulated time period: Al Safat Investment Company, Al-Qurain Holding Company, Kuwait Business Town Real Estate Co, Kuwait Commercial Markets Complex Co, The Securities House, Kuwait Finance & Investment Company, Industrial Investments Co, Housing Finance Company Al Madar Finance & Investment Co.
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