KUWAIT: Several companies listed in the Boursa Kuwait are pinning hope on trading of the last quarter of 2020 to compensate decline in their shares’ prices due to repercussions of coronavirus to avoid impacts on yearly profits, economists said. In separate interviews, they said that the global economic recession had a direct impact on the investment activities of these companies, so their chairpersons of boards of directors took preventive measures to reduce the losses caused by the crisis.

Salah Al-Sultan, an advisor at Arzak Capital company, extolled the rapid measures taken by the Kuwaiti government to absorb the shock against local economic sectors, similar to the steps taken by a number of governments across the globe as a result of the repercussions of the pandemic on all activities. He added that the technical part of the trading of the market’s stocks witnessed variables during the past seven months of 2020 that can be divided into three levels: The successive setbacks due to the unclear vision vis-a-vis the pandemic, the attempts to compensate losses of portfolios and funds for the first quarter as well as the return of selective purchase during the current period.

He noted that most transactions in all movements at the market were speculative and on the cheapest stocks, adding that this method is still present and will remain for a period of time due to the repercussions of the coronavirus in the world. He urged people to be careful and not to enter into buying or selling operations until they find real opportunities.

Meanwhile, member of the board of directors at Sorouh Educational Company, Sulaiman Al-Wuqayan said the pace of trading at the market was greatly affected during the first quarter of 2020, but the impact reduced as traders understood steps taken to decrease the losses of stocks. He anticipated a balance in the economic cycle in the last quarter due to banks’ solid ability to finance companies, including those in the real estate sector. Chairman of Traders Association Mohammad Al-Tarrah expected the market would return to the positive performance during the last quarter of 2020, when the economic cycle will be back to normal.

This will have a quick movement on some pivotal and driving sectors of the market, topped with the banking sector and investment, as they are the basic trading, he noted. He said that the technical track of the market performance during the fourth quarter of 2020 would rely heavily on major companies’ announcements of contracts and projects thus making their stocks lucrative for buyers. Many service companies and banks managed to overcome the crisis due to their projects and price levels at the market, he made clear. They try to end the final quarter with the same pace so as to guarantee better distributions to their shareholders, he said. — KUNA