By Santhosh V Perumal
Telecom, banking and transport stocks dragged the Qatar Exchange yesterday.
Local and non-Qatari retail investors were into profit-booking as the 20-stock Qatar Index (based on price data) fell 0.38% to 10,457.12 points.
The key index has been remaining above the 10,000 mark for the 23rd consecutive day.
However, domestic institutions were seen to be bullish in the market, which is up 25.1% year-to-date.
Overall market liquidity fell on faster shrinkage in trading volumes at the telecom, real estate, banking and transport counters.
Influential shakers included QNB, Commercial Bank, Doha Bank, Masraf Al Rayan, Nakilat, Vodafone Qatar, United Development Company and Qatari Investors Group. However, Industries Qatar, Barwa and al khaliji bucked the trend.
The 20-stock Total Return Index fell 0.38% to 14,940.82 points, the All Share Index (with wider constituents) by 0.28% to 2,602.43 and the Al Rayan Islamic Index by 0.04% to 3,064.8. All the three indices factored in dividend income as well.
Telecom stocks shrank 1.23%, followed by banks and financial services (0.53%), insurance (0.46%) and transport (0.36%); whereas consumer goods and industrials gained 0.21% each and realty (0.13%).
Market capitalisation eroded 0.27%, or more than QR1bn, to QR558.12bn. Mid, large and small cap equities fell 0.61%, 0.35% and 0.15% respectively, while micro caps was up 0.07%.
Qatari individual investors were increasingly bearish as their net selling surged to QR48.12mn against QR32.38mn the previous day.
Non-Qatari individuals’ profit-booking strengthened as their net selling soared to QR18.12mn compared to QR4.96mn on Tuesday.
However, domestic institutions turned net buyers to the tune of QR27.58mn against net sellers of QR22.46mn the previous day.
Foreign institutions’ net buying amounted to QR38.66mn compared to QR59.85mn on Tuesday.
Total trading volume fell 42% to 9.82mn stocks, value by 28% to QR366.8mn and transactions by 31% to 4,436.
The insurance sector’s trading volume plummeted 87% to 0.02mn shares, value by 87% to QR1.21mn and deals by 72% to 32.
The telecom sector saw a 60% plunge in trading volume to 3.46mn equities, 60% in value to QR40.76mn and 70% in transactions to 508.
The transport sector saw its trading volume tank 55% to 0.38mn stocks, value by 60% to QR8.7mn and deals by 40% to 128.
The banks and financial services sector reported 28% decline in trading volume to 2.2mn shares, 44% in value to QR111.61mn and 36% in transactions to 1,250.
The consumer goods sector saw its trading volume shrink 23% to 0.47mn equities and value by 12% to QR29.8mn while deals rose 8% to 432.
The real estate sector’s trading volume was down 14% to 2.37mn stocks, saw an 8% gain in value to QR61.72mn, but transactions were down 16% to 831.
However, the industrials sector’s trading volume surged 14% to 0.91mn shares, value by 53% to QR113.19mn and deals by 13% to 1,255.
In the debt market, there was no trading of treasury bills. However, a total of 17,500 bonds valued at QR177.63mn changed hands across one transaction.