By Santhosh V Perumal/Business Reporter

Strong buying in consumer goods, industrials and insurance stocks yesterday lifted the Qatar Exchange and its key index once again crossed the 11,400 mark.

Domestic institutions continued to be net buyers, but with lesser intensity, as the 20-stock Qatar Index (based on price index) rose 0.62% to 11,401.65 points.

Robust buying was visible especially in the micro-cap segment in the market as trading volumes fell and overall it was skewed towards real estate, banking and industrials sectors.

The index that tracks Shariah-principled stocks outperformed the other indices in the bourse, which is up 9.85% year-to-date.

The 20-stock Total Return Index rose 0.62% to 16,791.06 points, the All Share Index (with wider constituents) by 0.66% to 2,904.38 and the Al Rayan Islamic Index by 0.88% to 3,471.96 points.

All the three indices factored in dividend income as well.

Consumer goods stocks appreciated 2.75%, followed by insurance (1.77%), industrials (1.57%), telecom (0.16%), realty (0.11%) and transport (0.03%), while banks and financial services fell 0.07%.

About 63% of the traded stocks extended gains with major movers being Industries Qatar, Gulf International Services, Barwa, Vodafone Qatar, Mazaya Qatar, Qatar Islamic Bank, International Islamic and Alijarah Holding.

However, QNB, Mesaieed Petrochemical Holding, Nakilat, Doha Bank, Masraf Al Rayan, United Development Company and Qatari Investors Group bucked the trend.

Market capitalisation was up 0.15%, or about QR1bn, to QR640.32n. Micro, mid and large-cap equities gained 2.34%, 0.25% and 0.2% respectively; even as small caps fell 0.1%.

Domestic institutions’ net buying was QR39.49mn against QR81.91mn on Sunday.

Non-Qatari individual investors’ net buying amounted to QR8.9mn compared to QR3.78mn the previous day.

Qatari retail investors’ net selling stood at QR41.79mn against QR70.65mn on Sunday.

Foreign institutions’ net profit taking was QR6.55mn compared to QR15.1mn the previous day.

Total trading volume fell 17% to 14.64mn stocks and value by 5% to QR689.57mn while transactions were up 2% to 9,441.

The telecom sector’s trading volume plummeted 56% to 0.66mn equities, value by 16% to QR30.28mn and deals by 31% to 275.

The market witnessed a 43% plunge in industrials sector’s trading volume to 3.65mn shares, 45% in value to QR190.02mn and 17% in transactions to 3,993.

The real estate sector’s trading volume tanked 22% to 5.38mn stocks, value by 36% to QR138.15mn and deals by 29% to 1,532.

However, the insurance sector’s trading volume grew more than five-fold to 0.52mn equities and value by about seven-fold to QR28.45mn on almost quadrupled transactions to 393.

The consumer goods sector’s trading volume more than doubled to 1.31mn shares and value almost tripled to QR106.69mn on more than doubled deals to 1,135.

The banks and financial services sector reported a 63% surge in trading volume to 2.22mn stocks on more-than-doubled value to QR172.16mn. Transactions rose 52% to 1,646.

There was a 21% jump in the transport sector’s trading volume to 0.91mn equities, 28% in value to QR23.82mn and 79% in deals to 467.

In the debt market, there was no trading of treasury bills and government bonds.