(MENAFN- Arab Times) Kuwait stocks pulled higher Tuesday stemming the 5-day decline which wiped off over 281 points. The market climbed 28.02 points to 5744.54 points paring higher gains earlier in the session. The small stocks continued to attract speculative interest even as the blue chips closed narrowly mixed. The bourse witnessed the steepest single day fall in over 27 months on Sunday amid political worries.
The KSX 15 measure rose 3.51 points to 975.83 pts while the weighted index edged 0.62 pts higher. The volume turnover meanwhile receded after rising in the last three days. 256.7 million shares changed hands - down 25.64 percent from Monday. KSE, after eking moderate gains in last two months , has been range trading in the recent weeks.
Sector wise, technology outperformed the peers with 1.43 percent upswing whereas oil and gas slumped 1.53 percent, the worst performer of the day. In terms of volume, financial services topped with 62.78 percent market contribution and real estate stood next with 17.97 percent.
Gulf Glass Manufacturing Co climbed 40 fils to KD 0.690 and Kuwait Co For Process Plant Construction and Contracting Co rose 20 fils. Kuwait Foundry Co added 10 fils and Kuwait Portland Cement followed suit to close at KD 0.940.
National Industries Group took in 2 fils after trading 2.37 million shares. The stock has retreated 16 fils from start of the month while year-to-date, it has knocked off 58 fils. Kuwait Pipes too was up 2 fils and RISCO pulled 10 fils higher.
IFA Hotels and Resorts Co gained 5 fils with thin trading and ALAFCO was up by same measure. ACICO Industries Co climbed 4 fils and United Industries Co was up by same measure to wind up at 96 fils.
Closed
Zain closed flat at KD 0.740 off early lows whereas Wataniya Telecom tumbled 100 fils to KD 2.260. The stock has shed 320 fils from the start of the month and is trading 320 fils higher YTD. Agility held the ground unchanged at KD 0.495 after gyrating in tight range.
The market opened firm and rose sharply in early trade. The index drifted sideways thereafter as investors toed caution, and hit the day's highest level of 5767.48 pts past the mid-session. It eased in the final hour but managed to close with modest gains.
Top gainer of the day, KMEFIC spiked 13.33 percent to 42.5 fils while Future Communication Co climbed 9.62 percent to stand next. Kuwait Clinic slid 8.93 percent, the steepest decliner of the day, and Gulf Finance House topped the volume with 52.53 million shares.
Mirroring the day's gain, the winners outnumbered the losers. 74 stocks advanced whereas 37 closed lower. Of the 136 counters active on Tuesday, 25 closed flat. 4316 deals worth KD 19.16 million were transacted - down 27.44 percent in value from the previous session.
"The market's stability shows that panic has been absorbed by the market," Reuters quoted Fouad Abdulrahman Alhadlaq, deputy general manager at Al Dar Asset Management.
"Many investors are cautious and prefer to stay on the sidelines in case anything happens over the holidays that might negatively influence the market. The political situation is a major influence for the time being."
On the downside, Hilal Cement shed 10 fils to settle at KD 0.174 and Kuwait Hotels Co was down by same measure. Jazeera Airways eased 5 fils to KD 0.470 after closing higher in the previous session while Burgan Well Drilling Co fell 6 fils. Contracting and Marine Services Co was down 10 fils at KD 0.170.
In the banking sector, National Bank of Kuwait rose 10 fils and Commercial Bank followed suit to end at KD 0.690. Gulf Bank was flat at KD 0.405 off early lows and Al Ahli Bank was not traded during the session.
Climbed
Ahli United Bank held the ground unchanged at KD 0.860 and Kuwait International Bank climbed 5 fils. KIB has logged a net profit of KD 9,404,491 and earnings per share of 10.07 fils in the January-September period as against KD 8,180,030 profit and earnings per share of 8.76 fils in the same period last year.
Kuwait Finance House rose 10 fils to KD 0.510 whereas Burgan Bank was unchanged at KD 0.510. Boubyan Bank was down 10 fils at KD 0.620. The bank has won the approval of Central Bank of Kuwait to extend the approval of buying back or selling a maximum of 10% of its issued shares for 6 months ending on April 14, 2013.
National Investment Co rose 2 fils on back of 2.66 million shares and International Financial Advisers inched 0.5 fils higher. KIPCO stagnated at KD 0.120. The company has posted a net profit of KD 17.1 million for the first six months of 2012 while in the second quarter earnings chalked KD 8.6 million .
Securities House Co climbed 3 fils to 65 fils whereas Securities Group slipped 2 fils to KD 0.120. KAMCO closed flat at Bayan Investment Co inched 1 fils higher. 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.
First Investment Co added 4 fils and Al Mal Investment ticked 0.5 fils lower. Osoul Investment Co was up 2 fils at 69 fils. Osoul has completed the liquidation of its Bahrain-based subsidiary Noqoush Real Estate Co and incurred a loss of KD 2,44,000 in the deal and which will be recorded in Q3 financial statements.
Tamdeen Real Estate Co fell 2 fils to KD 0.222 and National Real Estate Co was flat at KD 0.120 off early highs. Mabanee Co shed 20 fils to wind up at KD 1.120 after stagnating on Monday.
The bourse has been downbeat so far during the week and has shed 165.37 pts in last three sessions. It has dived 238.15 points so far during the month and is trading 0.81 percent lower 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 recorded a loss of KD 4.6 million and loss per share of 22.51 fils in the first six months of 2012 rising sharply from KD 2.6 million and 13.08 fils LPS in 2011 H1. In the . second quarter, the losses amounted to KD 4 million.
Boubyan Petrochemicals Co., has posted profit of KD 101,000 or 0.21 fils per share in the 3-month period ending 31 July 2012 , falling 88.1% from KD 850.5 thousand and EPS of 1.76 fils in the same period last year.
Securities House Co. has posted net loss of KD 1,165,040 and loss per share of 1.8 fils in the January-June period as compared to net loss of KD 16,397,844 and loss per share of 25.7 fils in the same period last year.
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