BUSINESSARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, AUGUST 15, 2019

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Kuwait oil KD/USD rate Steinhoff

Kuwait oil price went up Tuesday $1.18 to $59.34 per barrel after being at $58.16 pb last Thursday, said the Kuwait Petro-leum Corporation (KPC) Wednesday.

The price of the Brent crude went up by $2.73 to $61.30 pb, the same case with the West Texas Inter-mediate, which went up by $2.17 to $57.10 pb. (KUNA)

The exchange rate of the US Dollar on Wednesday was stable exchanging at KD 0.303, whereas the Euro went down to KD 0.339 com-pared to the exchange rates of Aug 8, said the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK).

The CBK added in its bul-letin that the British Pound Sterling went down to 0.366, whereas the Swiss Franc was stable at KD 0.311.

South African retailer Stein-hoff’s total debt of over 9 billion euros ($10.1 billion) is “too high” and needs to be urgently addressed, new chief executive Louis du Preez said on Tuesday as the fi rm unveiled its restruc-turing plan.

“All the various debt in-struments that previously existed will be re-issued. (RTRS)

Kuwait bourse headsnorth after Eid break

CBK up 4 fils, Zain eases

By Cinatra AlvaresArab Times Staff

KUWAIT CITY, Aug 14: Kuwait stocks scaled up-wards for a green fi nish on Wednesday with positive market sentiment preva-lent after the long Eid Al Adha holidays. The All Share Index closed 17.99 points higher at 6,122.29 points, posting a 0.29% rise from the previous session.

The Premier Market closed 23.47 points higher at 6,742.10 points, charting a 0.35% climb and the Main Market index stood at 4,903.33 points, up by 6.74 points and 0.14%. The bourse swelled in early trade and struggled to stay maintain mo-mentum through the day, dipping in choppy trade in the fi nal hour but fi nally pulling over the rim.

The total traded stock on the fl oor surpassed 173 million shares for a turnover of KD 24.35 million. Of the 123 active counters, 64 companies ad-vances, while 41 retreated and 18 re-mained unchanged.

Aan Digital Services Company topped the list of gainers in the session, expanding 27.5% in share price to 20.4 fi ls. Amar for Finance and Leasing Co followed closely behind with a 26.73% leap to 38.4 fi ls albeit in low trade. Ek-ttitab Holding Co moved 18.42% up-ward to a 18 fi ls close while Kuwait Finance and Investment Co grew by 17% to a 46.8 fi ls share price. Equip-ment Holding Company ranked among the day’s top winners with a 10.53% rise to 21 fi ls.

On the other hand, Al Eid Food Co marked a 9.95% decline to 67.9 fi ls and Al Argan International Real Estate Co took a 9.72% plunge to 130 fi ls. International Resorts Company saw a 8.97% cut to 13.2 fi ls. Meanwhile, Gulf Cement Company and Noor Fi-nancial Investment closed at 56 fi ls and 87.9 fi ls with a 3.45% and 3.41% contraction, respectively.

Aan Digital Services Co traded the top volume of 22.44 million shares. In-vestors Holding Group traded a robust volume of 16.6 million shares while Ahli United Bank and Abyaar Real Es-tate Development Co saw stout activity with over 8 million of its shares traded.

The Banking Sector closed at 1,426.41 points, up by 0.41% trad-ing a volume of 26.21 million shares for the highest sector turnover of KD 11.72 million. National Bank of Ku-wait pulled 5 points higher to KD 1.005 at the session’s close. Concur-rently, Kuwait Finance House inched 1 point higher to 783 fi ls. Ahli United Bank added 5 points to 285 fi ls while Burgan Bank lost 5 points for a 352 fi ls fi nish. Kuwait International Bank and Gulf Bank clambered 1 point upward to 284 fi ls and 313 fi ls while Warba Bank slipped 1 point lower to 258 fi ls. Meanwhile, Boubyan Bank, Commer-cial Bank of Kuwait made a 4 point jump to 600 fi ls and 504 fi ls.

Telecommunications Sector In-dex stood at 1,098.62 points, slipping 0.22% into the red. Mobile Telecom-munications Co (Zain) ebbed 1 point lower to a 598 fi ls close while Kuwait Telecommunications Co (Viva) took a 2 point fall to 800 fi ls. National Mobile Telecommunications Co (Ooredoo) plunged 12 points lower to 711 fi ls while Aan Digital Services Co was the only counter to advance in the sector,

Egypt up on infl ation data

Gulf dips on recession fearsDUBAI, Aug 14, (RTRS): Egyp-tian blue-chip stocks rose to their highest in nearly three and a half months, extending the previous session’s gains, after Egypt report-ed better-than-expected infl ation data for the month of July.

Most Gulf markets traded on Wednesday after a three-day Eid holiday, while Saudi Arabia and Oman will resume trading on Sun-day. Egypt’s blue-chip index surged 2.5% to 14,541points, a level not seen since May 5.

The country’s biggest lender Commercial International Bank rose 2.8%, while El Sewedy Electric jumped 8.1%.

Egypt reported on Thursday that its headline infl ation rate had fallen to its lowest in nearly four years, dropping to 8.7% in July and defy-ing analyst expectations since it followed afresh round of fuel sub-sidy cuts that pushed domestic fuel prices up by 16%-30%.

The infl ation data provides enough room for the central bank to embark on monetary easing. Last month the monetary policy committee kept key interest rates on hold at 15.75% and 16.75%for overnight deposit and lending, re-spectively.

But in the Gulf, major markets reversed earlier gains as optimism over Washington delaying tariffs on some Chinese imports gave way to fears that the global economy was heading toward recession in the wake of a slump in Germany’s exports and slowing Chinese indus-trial growth.

Germany’s disappointing exports sent Europe’s largest economy into reverse in the second quarter as its manufacturers bore the brunt of a global slowdown amplifi ed by

tariff confl icts and uncertainty over Brexit.

China’s economy stumbled more sharply than expected in July,with industrial output growth cooling to a more than 17-year low, as the inten-sifying US trade war took a heavier toll on businesses and consumers Qatar’s index was down 1.6% to 9,676 points, its lowest lose since August 26, 2018. Market heavy-weight Industries Qatar decreased 3.9% while Qatar National Bank dropped 2.9%.

In Abu Dhabi the index fell 0.9% with First Abu Dhabi Bank sliding 0.9%, and investment fi rm Waha Capital plunging 6.9% after swing-ing to second-quarter loss. In Dubai, the index was down 0.2% with blue-chip developer Emaar Properties and Dubai Islamic Bank both trading 0.6% lower.

Abu Dhabi■ The index shed 0.9% to 5,054

points

Dubai■ The index was down 0.2% at

2,832 points

Qatar■ The index dropped 1.6% to

9,676 points

Egypt■ The index rose 2.5% to 14,541

points

Bahrain■ The index was down 0.3% at

1,540 points

Kuwait■ The index was up 0.4% at

6,742 points

gaining 4.4 points for a 20.4 fi ls close. In related news, Boursa Kuwait an-

nounced the list of companies suspend-ed from trading. These include Al-Kout Industrial Projects Co for not submitting the fi nancials for the fi rst quarter of the year as well as Ithmaar Holding Co and Yiaco Medical Co for their losses ex-ceeding 75% of the Paid up Capital.

The fi nancial services sector closed at 1,090.31 points, marking a 0.37% increase after trading a volume of 49 million shares for a turnover of KD 3.64 million. National Industries Group dialled up 1 point to 259 fi ls and Kuwait Finance and Investment Com-pany scaled 6.8 points higher to 46.8 fi ls. Aayan Leasing and Investment Co held ground at 55.4 fi ls while Al-Mad-ina for Finance and Investment trekked 1.6 points higher to 18.6 fi ls close. Al Imtiaz Investment Group closed at a steady 140 fi ls while First Investment Company skimmed 0.2 points lower to 34.4 fi ls and GFH Financial Group slid 1.2 points under to a 70.1 fi ls close. At the same time, Al Madar Finance and Investment Co closed fl at at 100 fi ls.

The Oil and Gas sector closed at 1,223.68 points in the green, up by 0.31%. Gulf Petroleum Investment closed at 23.6 fi ls with a 1.2 point rise and Senergy Holding Company stepped 1.1 point higher to 21.4 fi ls. The Energy House Co, on the other hand, closed fl at at 21.5 fi ls in low trade.

Real Estate Sector index closed at 969.85 points, trading the top volume

of 50.94 million shares for a KD 1.58 million turnover. MENA Real Estate Company gained 3 points to fi nish at a 39.6 fi ls share price, The National Real Estate Company closed 2.7 points higher at 87 fi ls while Mabanee Co dipped 1 point lower to 797 fi ls. Mean-while, Al Mazaya Holding Co stepped 2 points higher to 54.7 fi ls.

Industrial Sector logged a 0.3% rise to 926.92 points in the session. Agil-ity Public Warehousing Co gained 6 points to 796 fi ls after announcing its fi nancial results for the second quarter and its net profi t which is up 8.1% as compared to the same period from the previous year. Humansoft Holding Co held its ground at an unchanged KD 3.22 while Combined Group Contract-ing slipped 3 points lower to 247 fi ls while Integrated Holding Co slid 2 points lower to 461 points.

In Basic Materials, Boubyan Petro-chemical Co ebbed 2 points lower to 778 fi ls, Qurain Petrochemical Indus-tries added 4 points to 349 fi ls and Ku-wait Foundry Co closed fl at at 255 fi ls. In the insurance sector, Kuwait Insur-ance Company inched 1 point higher to 340 fi ls while Warba Insurance skimmed 0.1 point lower to 65 fi ls.

In Consumer Goods, Danah Al Safat Foodstuff Co made a 0.4 point incre-ment to 26.9 fi ls and in Consumer Ser-vices, Oula Fuel Marketing Company fell 2 points lower to 122 fi ls, Jiyad Holding Company made a 0.6 point ad-vance to 46.1 fi ls and Kuwait Resorts Co edged 0.1 point higher to 55.9 fi ls.

After US yield curve inverts

Eurozone bond yields plumb new lowsLONDON, Aug 14, (RTRS): Gov-ernment borrowing costs in Germany fell to record lows on Wednesday as global recession fears grew, with the US Treasury yield curve inverting for the fi rst time since 2007 and Germany reporting its economy shrank in the second quarter.

Eurozone government bond yields extended earlier declines after the two- to 10-year Treasury yield curve invert-ed, a sign that investors are bracing for recession risks in the United States.

The yield curve is closely watched for recession signals. The last time it inverted was during the US sub-prime-mortgage crunch that set off the global fi nancial crisis.

“”What this means is that markets are signalling that central banks are running out of options ... it points to a bigger, broader picture of major in-dustrial economies such as China and Germany haemorrhaging growth,” said Stephen Gallo, European head of FX strategy at BMO Markets.

Yield curves across Europe fl attened

as the curve between Germany’s two-and 10-year bonds shrank to 24 basis points, the narrowest since 2008. In the United Kingdom, shorter-dated bor-rowing costs fell below 10-year gilt yields, for the fi rst time since 2008.

Germany’s gross domestic prod-uct fell 0.1% quarter-on- quarter after growing 0.4% in the fi rst quarter, the latest sign that world trade disputes are damaging Europe’s biggest economy.

The 10-year German bond yield fell to -0.64%, a record low that takes its decline this year to almost 90 basis points. Its 30-year bond yield also hit a record low at -0.173% .

Across the eurozone, most long-dat-ed bond yields were down three to six basis points.

“The drop in the ultra-long end was swap-driven last week, but now it is changing to the cash market, which shows there is a more fundamental driver to long dated bond yields,” said Rainer Guntermann, rates strategist at Commerzbank.

News on Tuesday that Washington

would delay tariffs on some Chinese imports sparked a surge in world stock markets, but demand for fi xed income also remained strong.

Analysts put that down to a weak-ening global economy as well as risks ranging from Brexit to turmoil in Hong Kong, a rout in Argentina’s fi nancial markets and political uncertainty in Italy.

“There is a lot of pessimism pervad-ing in the eurozone bond market and that refl ects the easing that’s expect-ed from the ECB (European Central Bank),” said Antoine Bouvet, senior rates strategist at ING in London. “This also helps explain why the bond market hasn’t really reacted signifi cantly to the headlines on trade.”

Elsewhere, Italian bond yields fell for a third straight session as Italy’s Senate slowed a government crisis.

The Senate on Tuesday postponed until next week debate on the country’s government crisis, frustrating a push by Matteo Salvini, leader of the far-right League party, for new elections.