By Santhosh V. Perumal
Business Reporter
Foreign institutions hurriedly squared off their position on Thursday to steer the Qatar Stock Exchange back into negative trajectory.
Local retail investors’ net buying support and domestic institutions’ lower net selling notwithstanding, the 20-stock Qatar Index (based on price data) fell 0.68% to 11,899.63 points as trade volumes also sunk.
Islamic stocks were seen melting slower in the bourse, which is, however, down 3.14% year-to-date.
Non-Qatari retail investors sought to buy stocks, amid an overall bearish overhang in the market, where real estate, banks, telecom and industrials stocks cornered about 90% of the total trading volume.
Market capitalisation eroded 0.66% or more than QR4bn to QR648.79bn with mid, large and small cap equities melting 0.92%, 0.64% and 0.58% respectively; even as micro caps soared 1.09%.
The Total Return Index shed 0.68% to 17,748.18 points, All Share Index by 0.58% to 3,062.23 points and Al Rayan Islamic Index by 0.43% to 4,038.35 points.
Realty stocks plummeted 1.26%, banks and financial services (0.93%), telecom (0.88%) and industrials (0.34%); whereas transport gained 0.86%, consumer goods (0.59%) and insurance (0.31%).
Major shakers included QNB, Vodafone Qatar, Ezdan, Barwa, United Development Company, Qatar Electricity and Water, Masraf Al Rayan, al khaliji, Doha Bank and Commercial Bank; even as Gulf Warehousing notably bucked the trend.
Foreign institutions turned net sellers to the tune of QR52.92mn against net buyers of QR42.52mn the previous day.
However, Qatari retail investors turned net buyers to the extent of QR57.19mn compared with net sellers of QR11.25mn on January 28.
Domestic institutions’ net profit booking sunk to QR14.83mn against QR35.56mn on Wednesday.
Non-Qatari individual investors’ net buying strengthened to QR10.56mn compared to QR4.29mn the previous day.
Total trade volume fell 28% to 8.48mn shares, value by 26% to QR374.5mn and transactions by 20% to 4,815.
The industrials sector’s trade volume plummeted 50% to 1.01mn stocks, value by 33% to QR77.48mn and deals by 35% to 991.
The real estate sector saw its trade volume plunge 36% to 3.52mn equities, value by 40% to QR69.46mn and transactions by 33% to 992.
The banks and financial services reported 30% shrinkage in trade volume to 1.71mn shares, 32% in value to QR126.21mn and 28% in deals to 1,319.
The consumer goods sector’s trade volume tanked 19% to 0.17mn stocks, value by 10% to QR11.23mn and transactions by 17% to 187.
There was 10% slippage in the insurance sector’s trade volume to 0.47mn equities and 13% in value to QR37.79mn but on a marginal rise in deals to 306.
The transport sector’s trade volume was down 3% to 0.3mn shares, value by 8% to QR13.78mn and transactions by 12% to 166.
However, the telecom sector’s trade volume surged 72% to 1.29mn stocks and value more than doubled to QR38.55mn on 75% jump in deals to 854.
In the debt market, there was no trading of treasury bills and government bonds.
