By: Mohamed Farouk

Mubasher: Boursa Kuwait’s indices closed Tuesday on a varied note, with the all-share and main market indices edging higher by 0.03% and 0.17%, respectively, whereas the premier market index slipped 0.04%, marking its first decline this year.

Six sectors ended on a positive note, led by consumer staples with 5.6%, whereas four sectors closed in the red, led by technology, which lost 4.5%.

Commenting on the Kuwaiti market’s performance on Tuesday, head of investment research at KAMCO Raed Diab attributed the premier market’s slight decline to a normal correction following a streak of gains.

The main factors governing Boursa Kuwait continue to be good for most leading stocks, Diab told Mubasher, forecasting positive annual financial results for these blue chips.

There is an overall positive atmosphere after Boursa Kuwait was added to the FTSE Frontier Market Index, or FM 100, added to the likely upgrade to the MSCI index in Summery 2019, he stated.

The recent recovery in oil prices has also had a positive impact on the bourse, the analyst noted, highlighting that oil tends to play a role in the Kuwaiti budget.

From a technical perspective, Diab said that the premier market index was likely to see resistance at 5,200 points, indicating that a break above that level would prompt further increases towards 5,230 and 5,292 points.

We may see some declines in the coming period, but it is unlikely that they would be sharp, the analyst stated.

Marakez’s stock led gainers on Boursa Kuwait, surging 19.1%.

Turnover increased by 12% to KWD 36.3 million on Tuesday from KWD 32.41 million on Monday, while traded volume grew 9% to 232.66 million shares against 213.55 million.

Gulf Bank of Kuwait (GBK), up 0.38%, was the value leader with KWD 24.85 million in turnover, whereas Aayan Leasing, up 2.94% to 42 fils, was most active in terms of volume with 42.45 million shares exchanged.