By Santhosh V. Perumal
Business Reporter
Selling pressure – especially in the transport, industrials and banking equities – dragged the Qatar Stock Exchange on Monday after two days of bullish run.
The Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) institutions sought to book profits, driving the 20-stock Qatar Index down 0.27% to 11,731.64 points as trade volumes also fell.
Micro cap stocks witnessed the maximum selling pressure in the bourse, which is down 4.51% year-to-date.
The index that tracks Shariah-principled stocks was seen melting bit faster than the other indices in the market, where realty and banking stocks accounted for more than 64% of the total trading volume.
Market capitalisation fell 0.29% or about QR2bn to QR633.79bn with micro, mid and large cap stocks losing 1.36%, 0.48% and 0.42% respectively; while small caps were up 0.18%.
The Total Return Index shed 0.27% to 18,230.05 points, All Share Index by 0.26% to 3,137.99 points and Al Rayan Islamic Index by 0.28% to 4,315.06 points.
Transport stocks shrank 0.75%, industrials (0.65%), banks and financial services (0.49%) and consumer goods (0.22%); whereas telecom gained 0.71%, real estate (0.66%) and insurance (0.45%).
About 67% of the stocks were in the red with major losers being Industries Qatar, Aamal Company, Gulf International Services, Mesaieed Petrochemical Holding, Qatar Islamic Bank, Commercial Bank, International Islamic, Alijarah Holding, Barwa and Nakilat; even as Ooredoo, Ezdan Holding and Mazaya Qatar bucked the trend.
The GCC institutions turned net sellers to the tune of QR2.54mn against net buyers of QR19.15mn the previous day.
Local retail investors’ net profit booking sunk to QR4.81mn compared to QR7.63mn on Sunday.
The GCC individual investors’ net selling weakened to QR0.68mn against QR1.51mn on April 5.
Non-Qatari institutions’ net profit booking sunk to QR1.5mn compared to QR1.77mn the previous day.
However, domestic institutions turned net buyers to the extent of QR4.35mn compared with net sellers of QR8.29mn on Sunday.
Non-Qatari individual investors’ net buying strengthened to QR5.17mn against QR0.03mn on April 5.
Total trade volume fell 10% to 6.15mn shares, value by 24% to QR200.27mn and transactions by 5% to 3,744.
The insurance sector’s trade volume plummeted 76% to 0.1mn equities, value by 74% to QR4.77mn and deals by 68% to 64.
The transport sector saw its trade volume plunge 47% to 0.1mn stocks and value by 17% to QR6.28mn, while transactions gained 12% to 112.
There was 43% decline in the industrials sector’s trade volume to 0.65mn shares, 47% in value to QR37.1mn and 23% in deals to 874.
The banks and financial services sector reported 24% slippage in trade volume to 1.22mn equities and 19% in value to QR56.93mn but on 4% rise in transactions to 1,026.
The telecom sector’s trade volume tanked 16% to 0.66mn stocks, while value expanded 48% to QR18.22mn and deals by 5% to 500.
However, the consumer goods sector witnessed 28% surge in trade volume to 0.68mn shares and value by less than 1% to QR19.09mn, even as transactions were down 5% to 353.
The real estate sector saw its trade volume add 27% to 2.74mn equities but on 6% fall in value to QR57.88mn. Deals gained 14% to 815.
In the debt market, there was no trading of treasury bills and government bonds.
