By Santhosh V. Perumal
Business Reporter
The Qatar Stock Exchange continued to remain under bullish spell on Monday despite sharp reversals in the small and mid cap stocks.
Insurance, banks and telecom counters witnessed higher demand as the 20-stock Qatar Index (based on price data) rose for the second straight session by 0.19% to 12,549.25 points amid fall in trade volumes.
Attractive valuations prompted domestic and foreign institutions to largely scout for micro and large cap equities in the bourse, which is up 2.14% year-to-date.
Local retail investors, however, resorted to profit booking in the market, where real estate, banks and telecom stocks together cornered three-fourth of the total trading volume.
Market capitalisation rose 0.2% or more than QR1bn to QR680.56bn with micro and large cap stocks gaining 0.67% and 0.3%; whereas small and mid caps plunged 2.01% and 1.35% respectively.
The Total Return Index gained 0.52% to 18,969.65 points, All Share Index by 0.45% to 3,271.91 points and Al Rayan Islamic Index by 0.55% to 4,443.37 points.
Insurance stocks gained 1.78%, banks and financial services (0.95%), telecom (0.81%), realty (0.17%) and consumer goods (0.09%); while industrials and transport shed 0.33% and 0.02% respectively.
Major movers included QNB, Doha Bank, Mannai Corporation, Qatar General Insurance and Reinsurance, Barwa, Ooredoo and Vodafone Qatar; even as Qatar Islamic Bank, Industries Qatar, Gulf International Services, Mazaya Qatar and Ezdan bucked the trend.
Domestic institutions turned net buyers to the tune of QR13.78mn against net sellers of QR20.03mn the previous day.
Foreign institutions also turned net buyers to the extent of QR18.7mn compared with net profit takers of QR16.15mn on February 22.
However, Qatari retail investors turned net sellers to the tune of QR34.29mn against net buyers of QR29.64mn on Sunday.
Non-Qatari individual investors’ net buying weakened to QR1.86mn compared to QR6.57mn the previous day.
Total trade volume fell 18% to 7.64mn shares, while value rose 24% to QR431.88mn and transactions by 12% to 4,866.
The telecom sector witnessed 44% plunge in trade volume to 1.32mn stocks, 40% in value to QR25.09mn and 16% in deals to 419.
The consumer goods sector’s trade volume plummeted 35% to 0.36mn equities, while value soared 40% to QR46.28mn. Transactions were down 2% to 455.
There was 34% decline in the real estate’s trade volume to 2.37mn shares, 18% in value to QR92.83mn and 19% in deals to 892.
The industrials sector’s trade volume shrank 18% to 0.66mn stocks, even as value grew 16% to QR56.16mn. Transactions rose 24% to 1,186.
However, the insurance sector’s trade volume more than doubled to 0.66mn equities and value almost tripled to QR47.51mn on 48% expansion in deals to 415.
The transport sector’s trade volume zoomed 64% to 0.23mn shares and value more than doubled to QR9.99mn on 34% jump in transactions to 129.
The banks and financial services sector reported 30% surge in trade volume to 2.04mn stocks, 65% in value to QR154.01mn and 43% in deals to 1,370.
In the debt market, there was no trading of treasury bills and government bonds.
