By Santhosh V Perumal/Business Reporter
The Qatar Stock Exchange maintained its positive trajectory for the second day yesterday and its key index surpassed the 14,100 level, mainly led by strong buying interests in the telecom stocks.
Foreign institutions continued to be bullish, but with lesser intensity, as the 20-stock Qatar Index (based on price data) rose 0.14% to 14,109.16 points on higher volumes.
The index that tracks Shariah-principled stocks was seen gaining faster than the other indices in the market, which is up 35.93% year-to-date.
The Total Return Index gained 0.14% to 21,043.67 points, the All Share Index by 0.04% to 3,560.53 points and the Al Rayan Islamic Index by 0.38% to 4,787.18 points.
However, local and foreign retail investors turned bearish in the bourse, where trading was largely skewed towards realty and banking stocks.
Market capitalisation rose 0.11%, or about QR1bn, to QR748.45bn.
Telecom stocks gained 1.25%, followed by consumer goods (0.28%) and industrials (0.1%); while insurance shrank 0.56%, followed by transport (0.22%), real estate (0.21%) and banks and financial services (0.06%).
Major gainers included Ooredoo, Vodafone Qatar, Qatari Investors Group, International Islamic, Qatar Islamic Bank and Ezdan.
However, QNB, Nakilat, Barwa, Mazaya Qatar, Barwa, United Development Company and Widam Food bucked the trend.
Foreign institutions’ net buying fell to QR18.76mn against QR26.79mn last Thursday.
Domestic institutions’ net selling plunged to QR1.88mn compared to QR56mn the previous trading day.
Qatari retail investors turned net sellers to the tune of QR5.64mn against net buyers of QR19.84mn last Thursday.
Non-Qatari individual investors also turned net profit-takers to the extent of QR11.34mn compared with net buyers of QR9.32mn the previous trading day.
Total trading volume rose 11% to 12.12mn shares; while value fell 16% to QR553.32mn and transactions by 1% to 6,089.
The telecom sector’s trading volume almost tripled to 1.29mn equities, value surged 73% to QR38.36mn and deals by 21% to 345.
The real-estate sector saw its trading volume vault 56% to 3.78mn stocks, value by 29% to QR83.12mn and transactions by 15% to 1,022.
The market witnessed a 14% rise in the industrials sector’s trading volume to 1.38mn shares, but there was a 29% fall in value to QR106.8mn. Deals were up 4% to 1,639.
The banks and financial services sector reported an 8% expansion in trade volume to 3.25mn equities but value shrank 5% in value to QR202.15mn. Transactions rose 6% to 1,934.
However, the transport sector witnessed a 69% plunge in trading volume to 0.38mn stocks, 70% in value to QR13.98mn and 54% in deals to 197.
The consumer goods sector’s trading volume tanked 23% to 1.92mn shares, value by 32% to QR102.01mn and transactions by 21% to 831.
The insurance sector’s trading volume slid 14% to 0.12mn equities and value by 33% to QR6.9mn whereas deals rose 25% to 121.
In the debt market, there was no trading of treasury bills and government bonds.
