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Kuwaiti equities extend slide; benchmark slips to 6100

Kuwaiti equities extend slide; benchmark slips to 6100
By Mohamed Farouk:
Kuwait-Mubasher Exclusive: Indices of Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) have fallen on Wednesday, thus continuing a downtrend triggered by the plunge in crude prices.
The KSE Price Index dropped 0.9% or 55.3 points to close at a two-year low of 6115.63 points. Similarly, the KSE Weighed Index ended 0.82% or 3.38 points lower at 408.63 points. Kuwait 15 Index shed 1.13% or 11.1 points at 972.63 points.
The main reason behind the continued slide in the Kuwaiti stock market is the drop in oil prices, as Kuwaiti crude reached $54 per barrel, said Aya Ghadir, financial analyst, KFIC.
The analyst added that Zain stock fell by more than 5%, or 25 fils, with turnover of around KWD 3.7 million. She ascribed the stock fall to rumors that Al Fawaris, a subsidiary of Kharafi Group, will liquidate 63 million shares in Zain on January 20, 2015.
Meanwhile, investors focused their trading over the last two weeks on leading and operational stocks like KFH, NBK and Agility, Ghadir said, adding that this represented pressures from foreign rather than local portfolios ahead of corporate reporting for yearly dividends.
Wednesday’s turnover rose 52.7% to KWD 32.7 million, compared to KWD 21.41 million on Tuesday. Traded volume also increased by 23.6% to 184.25 million shares from 149.1 million shares. The number of transactions rose to 5753 from 4258.
The banks sector was the top gainer (+0.9%) backed by Boubyan Bank and Ithmaar Bank. Meanwhile, the telecoms sector was the biggest drag (-5.12%), weighed by Viva stock that has recently debuted.
Tracking stock performance, Marine Services was the best performer (+10%), while Pearl of Kuwait was the worst performer (-15.4%).
GFH was the most active with a traded volume reaching 30.4 million shares, while Agthia topped actives with turnover amounting to KWD 5 million.
Translated by Sayed Abdel Rahman
Photo Credit: Arabianeye-Reuters