By Santhosh V. Perumal
Business Reporter

Foreign institutions were increasingly into buying yet Qatar Stock Exchange settled a mere 10 points higher on Tuesday.

The 20-stock Qatar Index managed to gain 0.08% to 12,409.13 points as there was increasing selling pressure from domestic institutions and both Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) retail and institutions as well as non-Qatari individual investors turned bearish.

Buying interest was squarely visible in the real estate and consumer goods counters in the bourse, which reported 1% gains year-to-date.

Small and micro cap equities witnessed some sporadic buying in the market, where trading was largely skewed towards realty and banking sectors, whose stocks together accounted for about 76% of the overall volume.

Market capitalisation was up 0.04% or QR26mn to QR658.78bn with small, micro and mid cap equities gaining 0.31%, 0.2% and 0.09% respectively, while large caps were down 0.07%.

The Total Return Index rose 0.08% to 19,284.43 points, All Share Index by 0.12% to 3,305.91 points and Al Rayan Islamic Index by 0.11% to 4,720.1 points.

Realty stocks appreciated 1.55%, consumer goods (0.44%), banks and financial services (0.11%) and insurance (0.01%); while telecom shrank 0.98%, industrials (0.62%) and transport (0.51%).

Major gainers included QNB, Commercial Bank, Qatar Islamic Bank, Barwa, Ezdan, United Development Company and Doha Insurance; even as Masraf Al Rayan, Industries Qatar, Aamal Company, Mazaya Qatar, Ooredoo, Vodafone Qatar, Nakilat, Milaha and Qatari German Company for Medical Devices bucked the trend.

Non-Qatari institutions’ net buying considerably strengthened to QR120.21mn against QR71.88mn the previous day.

Local retail investors’ net profit booking declined to QR44.34mn compared to QR53.77mn on Monday.

However, the GCC individual investors turned net sellers to the tune of QR4.55mn against net buyers of QR5.12mn on May 25.

The GCC institutions were also net profit takers to the extent of QR24.15mn compared with net buyers of QR7.1mn the previous day.

Non-Qatari individual investors turned net sellers to the tune of QR3.64mn against net buyers of QR2.22mn on Monday.

Domestic institutions’ net profit booking strengthened to QR44.34mn compared to QR32.51mn on May 25.

Total trade volume rather flat at 13.85mn shares but value rose 11% to QR535.46mn and deals by 13% to 6,190.

There was 30% jump in the real estate sector’s trade volume to 7.57mn equities, 52% in value to QR199.1mn and 41% in transactions to 1,998.

The industrials sector’s trade volume rose 10% to 1.4mn stocks, value by 40% to QR86.95mn and deals by 23% to 1,370.

However, the market witnessed 52% plunge in the consumer goods sector’s trade volume to 0.83mn shares, 44% in value to QR24.41mn and 36% in transactions to 417.

The insurance sector’s trade volume plummeted 31% to 0.36mn equities and value by 24% to QR31.11mn, while deals more than doubled to 360.

The transport sector saw its trade volume decline 21% to 0.26mn stocks and value by 9% to QR10.39mn but on 25% expansion transactions to 220.

The banks and financial services sector reported 18% shrinkage in trade volume to 2.95mn shares, 7% in value to QR170.43mn and 2% in deals to 1,579.

The telecom sector’s trade volume tanked 13% to 0.48mn equities, while value rose 21% to QR13.07mn. Transactions fell 23% to 246.

In the debt market, there was no trading of treasury bills and government bonds.

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