By Santhosh V Perumal
The Qatar Stock Exchange yesterday entered the third straight session of bearish run as its key index fell more than 111 points, a day after Standard & Poor’s-Dow Jones placed the bourse in the emerging market status.
Foreign institutions’ were rather instrumental in dragging the 20-stock Qatar Index (based on price data) by 0.79% to 14,006.46 points as volumes shrank. However, domestic institutions were seen bullish in the market.
The Total Return Index was down 0.79% to 20,890.51 points, the All Share Index by 0.77% to 3,542.43 points and the Al Rayan Islamic Index by 1.03% to 4,723.42 points.
Selling was seen intense at the telecom, industrials and real estate counters in the bourse, where trading was largely skewed towards realty, banking and telecom stocks.
Market capitalisation eroded 0.68%, or more than QR5bn, to QR746.27bn. Large, micro and mid cap equities lost 1.03%, 0.46% and 0.36% respectively.
Telecom stocks plunged 1.97%, followed by industrials (0.93%), real estate (0.78%), banks and financial services (0.74%) and consumer goods (0.69%); while transport and insurance rose 0.15% and 0.12% respectively.
More than 60% of the stocks were in the red with major shakers being QNB, Industries Qatar, Ooredoo, Vodafone Qatar, Qatar Islamic Bank, Doha Bank, Qatar Electricity and Water, Barwa, United Development Company and Mazaya Qatar.
However, Commercial Bank, Gulf International Services, Ezdan and Nakilat were seen to buck the overall bearish trend.
Ezdan and Masraf Al Rayan were the most active in terms of both volume and value respectively.
Foreign institutions turned net sellers to the tune of QR113.96mn against net buyers of QR29.53mn the previous day.
Qatari retail investors’ net buying sunk to QR18.78mn compared to QR70.83mn on Monday.
However, domestic institutions turned net buyers to the extent of QR86.19mn against net profit- takers of QR102.75mn the previous day.
Non-Qatari individual investors’ net buying rose to QR8.86mn compared to QR2.39mn on Monday.
Total trading volume fell 19% to 13.24mn shares, whereas value rose 11% to QR628.22mn and transactions by 27% to 6,495.
The real estate sector’s trade volume plummeted 38% to 5.68mn equities, value by 32% to QR127.92mn and deals 2% to 1,298.
The consumer goods sector saw its trade volume plunge 33% to 0.65mn stocks but there was a 12% jump in value to QR44.67mn and 23% in transactions to 411.
The banks and financial services sector reported an 18% decline in trade volume to 3.33mn shares, while value surged 16% to QR251.79mn and deals by 35% to 2,143.
The insurance sector’s trade volume was down 7% to 0.13mn equities, while value was up 1% to QR9.19mn. Transactions fell 3% to 99.
However, the telecom sector’s trade volume almost tripled to 1.62mn stocks and value also almost tripled to QR50.61mn on 63% jump in deals to 550.
The market witnessed a 48% surge in the industrials sector’s trade volume to 1.23mn shares, value by 52% to QR118.29mn and transactions by 42% to 1,762.
The transport sector’s trade volume expanded 20% to 0.6mn equities, value by 62% to QR25.76mn and deals by 15% to 232.
In the debt market, there was no trading of treasury bills and government bonds.
Masraf Al Rayan halts Libyan bank stake buy on political unrest
Masraf Al Rayan has put its planned acquisition of a stake in a commercial bank in Libya on hold until political conditions in the North African country improve, it said in a statement.
The second-largest Shariah-compliant lender by assets in Qatar had said in January 2013 that it was looking to buy a strategic stake in a Libyan commercial bank, although it did not name the acquisition target.
However, in a bourse filing yesterday, Masraf Al Rayan said it had put the deal on hold “until further notice, or till positive indications in the field of investment in Libya are evidenced.”
Libya is struggling with anarchy as two parliaments and governments compete for legitimacy three years after Muammar Gaddafi was ousted.
