KUWAIT CITY, July 27: Kuwait stocks pulled lower on Thursday to wind up the week on a dull note. The bourse dipped 40.45 pts in choppy trade to 6,805.31 points erasing most of the week’s gains as profit taking kicked in. The blue chips however closed narrowly mixed.The KSX 15 index edged 1.47 pts higher to 954.42 points taking the month’s gains to 44 points while weighted index eased 0.26 pts. The volume turnover meanwhile shrank after hitting a multi-month high on Wednesday. 100.55 million shares changed hands — down 32.19 pct from the day before.The sectors closed mostly in red territory. Technology outpaced the rest with 2.60 pct gain whereas oil and gas slumped 6.24 percent, the worst performer of the day. Volume wise, financial services accounted for the highest market share of 43.14 pct and real estate trailed with 27.7 percent contribution.Among the day’s notable losers, KIPCO slipped 5 fils to 370 fils and Mabanee Co was down 9 fils at 795 fils erasing most of last session gains. Humansoft Holding extended Wednesday’s losses with a 100 fils tumble to KD 4.250.Zain rose 2 fils to 457 fils on back of 4.5 million shares and Kuwait Telecommunications Co (VIVA) inched 1 fil into red. Agility climbed 4 fils to 851 fils whereas Ooredoo was not traded during the session.National Bank of Kuwait gained 4 fils with a volume of 1.6 million shares and Burgan Bank closed flat. The bank has posted a profit of KD 21.07 million in the second quarter, a 24.6 pct jump from same period last year.The market opened on a tame note and swung lower in early trade. The main index drifted narrowly thereafter in choppy trade and plumbed the day’s lowest level of 6,777.25 pts in the final minutes. It however clawed back to recoup some of the losses at close.Top gainer of the day, Hayat Communication Co climbed 5.95 pct to 89 fils while Eyas For Higher and Technical Education climbed 4.8 percent to stand next. NAPESCO dived 12.6 pct, the steepest decliner of the day and Al Mal Investment topped the volume with 11.7 million shares.Mirroring the day’s downswing, the market spread was heavily skewed towards the losers. 32 stocks advanced whereas 70 closed lower. Of the 126 counters active on Thursday, 24 closed flat. 3290 deals worth KD 13.77 million were transacted — an 18.24 pct drop in value from the day before.National Industries Group fell 2 fils to 140 fils and Gulf Cable inched 1 fil lower. Kuwait Cement Co dipped 10 fils and Kuwait Portland Cement was down 18 fils at 950 fils. Heavy Engineering Industries and Shipbuilding Co stood pat at 207 fils.NICBM dipped 15 fils to 160 fils while Metal and Recycling Co gave up 9 fils. Boubyan Petrochemical Co added 3 fils whereas Al Qurain Petrochemical Co slipped 3 fils to 348 fils.DroppedJazeera Airways dropped 5 fils to 500 fils and ALAFCO rose 7 fils to 350 fils. The company’s Q3 earnings surged 49 pct to KD 5.78 million from same period last year. During the nine-month period ended 30 June 2017, the profits soared 66.7% to KD 16.57 million.UPAC slid 15 fils to 700 fils extending Wednesday’s steep losses and OSOS climbed 5 fils to 141 fils. Automated Systems Co clipped 1 fil and Kuwait Cable Vision erased 0.2 fil.Mezzan Holding jumped 20 fils to 910 fils and Al Rai Media Group took in 1 fil. AWJ Holding trimmed 2.5 fils to settle at 78.1 fils and Educational Holding Group gained 8 fils.In the banking sector, Kuwait Finance House dialed up 1 fil on back of 2.6 million shares and Gulf Bank was up 3 fils at 246 fils. Commercial Bank paused at 350 fils and Al Ahli Bank was not traded during the session.Al Mutahed and Boubyan Bank dialed up 2 fils whereas Kuwait International Bank tripped 1 fil to 243 fils. Warba Bank stood pat at 269 fils.KAMCO rose 3 fils to 75 fils whereas Coast Investment Co and Arzan were flat at 44 fils and 38 fils respectively. KMEFIC gave up 0.8 fil and Securities House Co ticked 0.2 fil down.Bayan Investment Co fell 0.3 fils and National Investments Co stalled at 113 fils. The company has posted a 78.4 pct jump in profits to KD 1.17 million during the second quarter from same period last year. During the first six months, the earnings swelled by 192.1% to KD 5.17 million.Osoul Investment Co took in 1.9 fils and Tamdeen Investment Co gained 12 fils to close at 300 fils. Sokouk Investment Co inched 0.1 fil up and Aayan Investment nudged 0.5 fil into green. Gulf Investment House trimmed 0.9 fil.Noor Financial Investment Co eased 0.4 fil and Unicap gave up 0.5 fil. Ektittab Holding clipped 1.5 fils and Al Imtiaz was down 2 fils at 167 fils. Warba Insurance Co dipped 10.4 fils to 78.5 fils.Kuwait Real Estate Co tripped 0.2 fil to 60.1 fils and National Real Estate Co held ground at 126 fils. Salhiya Real Estate Co shed 12 fils and Mazaya Holding gave up 1 fil.The market was largely upbeat during the week. The main index closed higher in four of the five sessions and added 24 points week-on-week. It has rallied 44 points from start of the month and is trading 18.39 pct higher year-to-date. KSE, with 188 listed companies, is the second largest bourse in the region.In the bourse related news, Imtiaz Investment Group’s second quarter profits soared by a whopping 1,041 pct to KD 19.97 million from same period in 2016. During the first six months, profits surged 626.3% to KD 32.32 million.National International Holding Co recorded a 66.2 percent dip in the second quarter profit to KD 828,500 from same period last year. In the first half of 2017, the profits tumbled 56 percent to KD 1.2 million. Aqar Real Estate Investment’s second quarter profits surged 27 pct to KD 350,410 mln from same period last year helped by increase of rent revenues. The revenues rose 23.4 percent to KD 687,320 in the first half while operating revenues climbed 21.6 percent to KD 987,070.S&P Global Ratings has affirmed “A-/A-2” long- and short-term counterparty credit ratings on Gulf Bank. The rating agency also revised its outlook on the bank to “positive” from “stable”.National Real Estate’s (NREC) ordinary general meeting has approved raising its capital to KD 150 million, by issuing 1.5 billion shares at a nominal value of 100 fils each. The company’s current capital stands at KD 98.97 million.Educational Holding Group has posted a 13 pct drop in profits in the quarter ended May 31, 2017. The profits totaled KD 1.14 million as against KD 1.31 million in the same period last year.By John MathewsArab Times Staff