(MENAFN- Arab Times) Â Kuwait stocks surged Sunday to breach the 8,000 pts for the first time since July 2009, paced by brisk buying across the board.
The index spiked 119.1 pts in volatile trading to 8,021.28 pts extending the gains to second straight session. The trading floor sentiment was markedly bullish even as some of the counters edged lower.
The KSX 15 gauge rose 1.13 pts to 1,087.76 pts and has gained over 7 pts from start of the month while weighted index took in 2.29 pts to settle at 466.09 points. The volume turnover meanwhile, ticked higher for the second day in a row. 1207.49 million shares changed hands - up 6.62 percent from the day before.
The sectors closed mostly in the positive territory. The insurance outperformed the rest with a 3.08 percent jump whereas technology shed 2.28 pct, the worst performer of the day. In terms of volume, real estate garnered the highest market share of 39.81 pct while financial services and industrials followed with 29.62 percent and 11.47 percent respectively.
IFA Hotels and Resorts climbed 25 fils to KD 0.300 and Yiaco Medicals soared 30 fils partly recouping the fall in the previous session. Jazeera Airways added 5 fils and Kuwait Packing Materials Manufacturing Co was up 20 fils to end at KD 0.340. Kuwait Gulf Links gained 6 fils on back of over 5 million shares.
Gulf Insurance Co rallied 30 fils while Ahli Insurance Co climbed 25 fils to settle at KD 0.475. National Industries Group rose 4 fils with a volume of 7.5 million shares. The company has earned KD 4.73 million and logged earnings per share of 4 fils in the quarter ending March 2013 , down sharply from KD 9.42 million and earnings per share of 7 fils in the year ago period.
Spiked
Bourse heavyweight Zain eased 10 fils to KD 0.700 whereas Wataniya Telecom spiked 60 fils after posting steep loss in the last session. Agility however held the ground unchanged at KD 0.700 off early highs and the counter saw 1.4 million shares change hands.
The market opened firm and rose sharply in early trading. The index lost momentum and sagged amid profit taking almost half way into the session. It clawed back and moved sideways before closing with hefty gains.
Top gainer of the day, Mayadeen spiked 9.62 percent to 28.5 fils and Kuwait Business Town Real Estate Development Co rose 9.26 percent to stand next. Equipment Holding Co tumbled 8.93 percent, the steepest decliner of the day and Gulf Finance House topped the volume with 123.14 million shares.
Mirroring the day's strong gains, the market spread was heavily skewed towards the winners. 93 stocks advanced whereas 39 closed lower. Of the 154 counters active on Sunday, 22 closed flat. 16,587 deals worth KD 110.14 million were transacted - a 22.78 percent increase in value from the day before.
"(There's) no looking back as regional markets, especially the UAE and Kuwaiti markets, seem to be catching a second wind in their momentum buying," Reuters quoted a note by Al Masah Capital's. "Bears and short-sellers have no choice but to stay on the sidelines for the time being although once the momentum slows, there may be some interesting entry points."
Among other gainers, International Resorts Co added 5 fils on back of 14.35 million shares and Kuwait Cement Co gained 10 fils. The company has posted a net profit of KD 5.04 million and earnings per share of 7.91 fils in the January-March quarter. Credit Rating and Collection Co rose 4 fils and United Industries Co ticked 2 fils up. RISCO dialed up 10 fils to settle at KD 0.270.
On the down side, KGL Logistics Co dived 25 fils after trading 1.18 million shares and Combined Group Contracting Co tumbled 40 fils to wind up at KD 1.300. Contracting and Marine Services Co slipped 10 fils.
Slipped
Kuwait Building Materials Co slipped 10 fils and Hilal Cement Co was down by same measure. ACICO Industries shaved off 5 fils. Aref Energy Co eased 4 fils to KD 0.132 and Humansoft Holding Co fell 6 fils. Metal and Recycling Co flunked 2 fils while ALAFCO pulled 5 fils lower.
In the banking sector, National Bank of Kuwait rose 10 fils to KD 0.980 and Gulf Bank added 5 fils on back of 2.21 million shares. Commercial Bank of Kuwait eased 10 fils and Al Ahli Bank followed suit. CBK has clocked KD 800,000 net profit in the January-March quarter rising sharply from KD 300,000 in the same period a year ago.
Ahli United Bank was unchanged at KD 0.750 and Burgan Bank too paused at KD 0.590 off early lows. Kuwait Finance House stagnated at KD 0.790 after edging lower in the previous session. The stock has shed 10 fils from start of the month while year to -date, it has retreated 20 fils. Boubyan Bank dialed down 10 fils.
Kuwait Investment Co rose 4 fils to KD 0.134 and National Investment Co was up 4 fils with a volume of 3.2 million. KIPCO gained 5 fils and International Finance Co followed suit to end at 85 fils.
Sokouk Holding shed 8 fils and whereas Al Deera climbed 5 fils on back of 14.5 million shares. Kwt and Middle East Fin. Inv added 3 fils. The company has earned KD 341,232 and chalked earnings per share of 1.31 fils in the first quarter of 2013, rising sharply from KD 34,807 profit and earnings per share of 0.13 fils in the same period last year.
The bourse has been buoyant during last week. It closed higher in 4 of the 5 sessions and soared 132.72 pts week-on-week. It has spiked 680.74 pts from start of the month and is trading 35 percent higher year-to-date. KSE, with 213 listed companies, is the second largest bourse in the region.
In the bourse related news, Gulf Cables and Electrical Industries has posted net profit of KD 2.35 million and earnings per share of 11 fils in the first quarter of 2013, down from KD 8.67 million profit and 4.1 fils EPS in the year ago period.
Kuwait Real Estate has recorded a net profit of KD 1.62 million and earnings per share of 1.8 fils in the first quarter of 201, up from KD 1.24 million profit and 1.37 fils EPS in the year before period.
Osoul Investment has logged net profit of KD 149,222 and earnings per share 0.79 fils in the January-March quarter of 2013, down from KD 220,494 profit and 1 fils EPS in the year before period.
Gulf Glass Manufacturing Co has posted net profit of KD 278,063 and earnings per share of 6.57 fils in the January-March period, falling from KD 586,602 profit and earnings per share 13.87 fils in the year before period.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.