Qatar bourse hits new all-time high

By Santhosh V Perumal/Business Reporter

Qatar Insurance Company (QIC), Aamal Company and Ezdan witnessed their stocks touch the upper circuit-filter of 10%, leading the Qatar Stock Exchange reach an all-time high with capitalisation gaining more than QR12bn.

Local retail investors and foreign institutions continued to be net buyers, but with lesser intensity, as the 20-stock Qatar Index (based on price data) rose 0.82% to 13,174.74 points, even as capitalisation was marginally on the decline.

Opening strong, the market witnessed heavy buying in the initial 15 minutes to take the index very near 17,200 levels, after which mild profit-booking ensued, but only to see some buying pressure in the last few minutes.

Stronger buying was witnessed in the insurance, industrials and transport counters in the market, which is up 26.93% year-to-date.

QIC stocks surged on reports that it won a large contract to provide risk cover services to the Hamad International Airport.

However, domestic institutions continued to be net sellers, but with lesser intensity in the market, which saw more than 69% of the stocks extend gains to investors.

Trading activities were on the rise and was overall skewed towards banks, realty, industrials, telecom and transport equities.

The 20-stock Total Return Index rose 0.82% to 19,646.38 points, the All Share Index (with wider constituents) by 1.03% to 3,353.16 and the Al Rayan Islamic Index by 0.32% to 4,319.51, while. All the three indices factored in dividend income as well.

Insurance stocks surged 6.64%, followed by industrials (1.41%), transport (1.17%), banks and financial services (0.76%) and consumer goods (0.16%); whereas real estate fell 0.55% and telecom lost 0.18%.

Apart from the three that touched the upper circuit filter, the other major gainers included Industries Qatar, QNB, Qatar Islamic Bank, International Islamic, Masraf Al Rayan, al khaliji, Gulf International Services and Nakilat.

Market capitalisation expanded 1.67% to QR738.47bn. Mid cap equities gained about 2%, large and micro by about 1% each, and small caps 0.42%.

Foreign institutions’ net buying sunk to QR43.65mn against QR100.81mn the previous day.

Qatari retail investors’ net buying fell to QR12.28mn compared to QR25.23mn on Monday.

Domestic institutions’ net profit-taking shrank to QR35.7mn against QR66.8mn the previous day.

Non-Qatari individual investors’ net selling also fell to QR22.23mn compared to QR59.45mn the previous day.

Total trading volume was up 9% to 23.47mn stocks while value was down 2% to QR1.02bn but transactions gained 17% to 11,410.

The insurance sector’s trading volume grew almost eight-fold to 0.86mn equities and value by 11-fold to QR54.14mn on an almost six-fold jump in deals to 621.

The transport sector’s trading volume more than doubled to 2.45mn shares and value almost doubled to QR70.11mn on more-than-doubled transactions to 986.

The banks and financial services sector reported a 32% surge in trading volume to 6.18mn stocks, 26% in value to QR327.79mn and 33% in deals to 2,976.

The consumer goods sector’s trading volume expanded 17% to 2.21mn equities, but value was down 8% to QR158.32mn. Transactions were up 6% to 1,584.

The market witnessed a 6% gain in the industrials sector’s trading volume to 3.93mn shares, while value shrank 37% to QR195.03mn and deals by 1% to 2,906.

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