Kuwait stock exchange price index posts gains, making up losses

Price index of Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) rose on Wednesday due to trading by single-stock companies, thus partly making up for losses incurred over the past three days. This situation prompted a number of investors to get engaged in hefty stocks' purchase, manifested with noticeable activities by investment portfolios and funds, particularly those affiliated to banks. Bullish trend of the price index did not explicitly reflect actual activities, particular in last hour of today's session that witnessed sell-off orders, thus causing this index, for a short period of time, to drop before rebounding, gaining 18.8 points and closing at level of 7,737 points. Amid the mixed operations, the banking sector witnessed greater pressure by speculators aspiring to generate high year-end dividends. Al-Ahli Bank of Kuwait's stock entered into the Kuwait 15 index zone, reviving trades. It, along with that of Zain, was key in making the session end up in the green zone. Meanwhile, trades focused on cheap chips, ranging between 100 to 200 fils, despite purchase orders on blue-chips, as well as stocks of companies forecast to execute projects in Dubai. Liquidity remained very low, in range of KD 20-25 million, due to anticipation in the year-final month, when some companies tend to "beautify" their financial statements to generate substantial liquidity. Thursday's session is forecast to witness regular profit-generation operations targeting bullish chips, namely those in the investment, realty and services sectors, as well as banking -- number-one nominee for leading next week's operations