By Santhosh V. Perumal

Business Reporter

Local retail investors’ buying interests were to a great extent contained by selling pressure from non-Qatari retail and institutions that the Qatar Stock Exchange settled mere four points higher on Monday.

Among the seven sectors, only industrials and telecoms were in the positive terrain to lift the 20-stock Qatar Index (based on price data) by mere 0.03% to 12,644.87 points as volumes also rose.

Large and small cap stocks largely witnessed more buying interest in the bourse, which is up 21.82% year-to-date.

The index that tracks Shariah-principled stocks was seen melting faster than the other indices in the market.

The Total Return Index was up 0.03% to 18,859.7 points, whereas All Share Index was down 0.01% to 3,229.35 points and Al Rayan Islamic Index by 0.21% to 4,315.16 points.

Market capitalisation rose 0.13% or about QR1bn to QR692.01bn with large and small caps gaining 0.16% and 0.1%; even as mid and micro caps fell 0.28% and 0.27% respectively.

Industrials and telecom stocks gained 0.6% and 0.38% respectively; while insurance fell 0.65%, real estate (0.42%), consumer goods (0.38%), banks and financial services (0.15%) and transport (0.12%).

Major gainers included QNB, Industries Qatar, Gulf International Services, Al Khaleej Takaful, Vodafone Qatar, Ooredoo and Widam Food.

However, Commercial Bank, International Islamic, Mesaieed Petrochemical Holding, Mazaya Qatar, Ezdan and Nakilat were seen bucking the trend.

Qatari retail investors’ net buying surged to QR57.52mn compared to QR13.74mn the previous day.

However, non-Qatari individual investors turned net sellers to the extent of QR14.69mn against net buyers of QR15.46mn on Sunday.

Domestic institutions’ net selling rose to QR18.94mn compared to QR12.11mn on December 7.

Foreign institutions’ net profit booking strengthened to QR23.89mn against QR17.09mn the previous day.

Total trade volume rose 25% to 7.04mn shares, value by 43% to QR416.2mn and transactions by 17% to 4,261.

The telecom sector’s trade volume almost tripled to 1.7mn equities and value more than doubled to QR37.85mn on more than doubled deals to 437.

The banks and financial services sector reported 44% surge in trade volume to 2.01mn stocks, 74% in value to QR218.84mn and 41% in transactions to 1,470.

The industrials sector’s trade volume expanded 17% to 0.9mn shares, value by 40% to QR67.81mn and deals by 4% to 911.

The transport sector’s trade volume was up 4% to 0.55mn equities, value by 3% to QR28.85mn and transactions by 17% to 330.

However, there was 33% plunge in the insurance sector’s trade volume to 0.07mn stocks, 43% in value to QR4.65mn and 35% in deals to 86.

The consumer goods sector saw its trade volume tank 33% to 0.47mn shares, value by 17% to QR23.64mn and transactions by 8% to 316.

The real estate sector witnessed 14% shrinkage in trade volume to 1.33mn equities, 10% in value to QR34.56mn and 6% in deals to 711.

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