Kuwait benchmark rebounds 73 pts on strong buying in select counters  

(MENAFN - Arab Times) Kuwait stocks posted robust rebound on Tuesday, erasing the moderate loss in the previous session.

The index climbed 73.4 points in choppy trade paced by National Bank of Kuwait and Zain even as most of the blue chips closed higher. The bourse winded up at 6,869.1 points amid an increase in volume turnover while the weighted index was up 7.09 points at 383.58 points. National Bank of Kuwait rallied 3.7 percent on back of 2.75 million shares, recouping the loss on Tuesday.

It closed at KD 1.100 after moving in a 40 fils range. Zain bounced 4.16 percent to close at KD 1.000. It posted a volume turnover of 5.5 million shares. One of the telecom firm's major stakeholders, Kharafi Group, is in the process of selling a substantial part of its shares to a consortium led by India's Vavasi Group.

Agility meanwhile scaled 20 fils paring the loss on Monday. It closed at KD 0.870 and the counter saw a whopping 10.8 million volume turnover during the day. The scrip had sagged 7.9 percent in October and is trading 38 percent higher since the start of the year. Wataniya Telecom rose 20 fils, extending the strong gains in the previous month.

The telecom service provider has registered a 27.7 percent drop in third quarter net profit.

The net profit slumped to KD 18.5 million from KD 25.6 million in the 2008 period. "It's part of the same trend — Zain was sold off pretty sharply, so this could be a natural rebound coming through," Reuters quoted Shahid Hameed, Global Investment House head of asset management for the Gulf region. "Agility's fall looks a bit overdone, with everything now riding on the court case," he added . "There's not much liquidity in the stock so it only takes a little bit of selling to put it under pressure."

Added
Among other gainers, National Industries Group added 20 fils. It closed at KD 0.340 and the counter saw over 1.8 million shares change hands during the session.

The stock had fallen 18 percent in October and is trading 18 percent lower year-to-date. Gulf Cables spiked 40 fils after pulling lower on Monday while Kuwait Portland Cement Co climbed 50 fils to wind up at KD 0.730. Kuwait Cement Co too was up 30 fils on back of 1.1 million shares and closed at KD 0.560. The bourse, which slid below the 7,000 mark on Nov 15 amid heavy sell-offs, has gained 115 points since the start of the week. It has shed 6.5 percent from close of October and is down 9.74 percent year-to-date. The bourse had rallied strongly in April and May, but retreated in the middle of June as investor sentiments were battered by weak earnings and sliding oil prices besides other factors.

The banking stocks closed mixed. Gulf Bank edged 5 fils higher with a volume of 1.7 million shares while Commercial Bank closed 10 fils lower at KD 0.970, recovering the drop in the previous session. The lender has incurred a third-quarter net loss of KD 1.6 million on provisions against bad loans and investments.

Loss per share in the third quarter was 2 fils, compared with earnings per share of 27.4 fils in the same period a year ago. Al Ahli Bank dropped 15 fils to KD 0.470 amid thin trading while Bank of Kuwait and Middle East held the ground unchanged at KD 0.495.

Kuwait Finance House gained 20 fils on back of 1.03 million shares while Boubyan Bank was up 10 fils at KD 0.485 after trading in a 20 fils range.


In the bourse related news, National Ranges Company's Board of Directors has approved interim financial statements for the periods ended Sept 30, 2009. In the three-month period the company incurred a net loss reached KD 990,418 and loss per share of 1.05 fils compared to a net profit of KD 4,961,335 and earnings per share of 5.10 fils for the same period last year.

In the nine-month period ended the net profit touched KD 742,183 and earnings per share worked out at 0.79 fils compared. KSE listed Gulf Finance House's Extraordinary General Meeting has approved an agreement with Germany's Deutsche Bank AG to contribute in a three-year convertible Murabaha facility worth $100 million.

According to the deal, Deutsche Bank AG has the right to transfer the Murabaha's amount or any part of it to shares at the price of 38 cents per share at any time of the three years, and thus become a shareholder. Investment sector shares headed mostly north.

Sector heavyweight KIPCO took in 5 fils, after falling by identical value in the previous session.

National Investment Co added 15 fils to close at KD 0.330 while International Investment Group rose 5 fils. The counter saw over 4.9 million shares change hands. Al Mal Investment Co too was up 5 fils whereas Aayan Leasing and Investment Co did not budge from its previous close of 0.068.


Lower
Bayan Investment Co inched 1 fils lower while Global Investment House rose 4 fils to KD 0.092. Osoul Investment Co gained 5 fils to wind up at KD 0.085. Al Madar Finance and Investment Co slipped 5 fils whereas Al Deera Holding Co was up 3 fils at KD 0.086 on back of 27.8 million shares. Al Safat Investment Co climbed 4 fils to wind up at KD 0.112 and the counter saw over 6.7 million shares change hands during the day while Noor Financial Investment closed flat at KD 0.096.

National Real Estate Co edged 2 fils higher trading in a 10 fils range. The stock closed at KD 0.244 with volume turnover of 13.4 million shares while Mabanee Co gained 20 fils.

Kuwait International Bank has announced that it has obtained the approval of the Central Bank of Kuwait to purchase up to a maximum 10% of its issued shares for 6 months as of 28/5/2010. The approval is subject to adherence to the terms and conditions of the Central Bank.

Meanwhile, Industrial and Financial Inv. Co too has obtained the approval of the Central Bank of Kuwait to purchase up to a maximum 10% of its issued shares for 6 months as of 26/11/2009.

The market opened on a flat note and hovered around the opening mark in early trading. The index rose slightly and moved sideways well past the mid-session as investors toed caution fearing profit booking.

It gained momentum in the final hour as buying picked up in select counters at low levels and managed to close well above the opening mark.

In the economic front. Kuwait is forecast to post a budget surplus of up to $22.3bn this fiscal year on the back of better than expected oil prices.

The expected surplus was based on estimates that the price of Kuwaiti oil will range from between $65 a barrel and $68 over the entire fiscal year. The finance ministry figures showed that the state has posted a preliminary surplus of 17.5 billion dollars in the first half of the year. The market spread was skewed towards the winners. 82 stocks advanced while 14 closed lower. Of the 123 counters active on Tuesday, 27 closed flat.

5921 deals worth KD 53.75 million were transacted — up 37.19 percent in value over previous session. Volume turnover rose 18.6 percent to KD 369.14 million shares