Insurance, industrials and telecom stocks witnessed higher buying interests as the 20-stock Qatar Index rose 0.9% to 11,053.88 points amid lower trading turnover and volumes.
Islamic stocks were seen gaining slower than the conventional ones in the market, which is up 5.99% year-to-date.
However, domestic institutions were seen increasingly resorting to profit-booking in the bourse, where realty and banking stocks constituted more than 59% of the total trading volume.
Market capitalisation expanded 0.85%, or QR5bn, to QR591.37bn as large, micro, small and midcap equities rose 1.13%, 0.39%, 0.3% and 0.21% respectively.
The Total Return Index gained 0.9% to 17,884.44 points, the All Share Index by 0.78% to 3,044.23 points and the Al Rayan Islamic Index by 0.54% to 4,226.84 points.
Insurance stocks soared 2.21%, followed by industrials (1.06%), telecom (0.97%), banks and financial services (0.87%), consumer goods (0.57%) and transport (0.2%); while real estate was down 0.01%.
About 63% of the traded stocks extended gains with major movers being Industries Qatar, Gulf International Services, Qatar Insurance, Ooredoo, QNB, Qatar Islamic Bank, Commercial Bank, Doha Bank, Alijarah Holding, Widam Food, Barwa and Nakilat; even as Mazaya Qatar, Ezdan, Aamal Company, Al Khaliji and Salam International Investment bucked the trend.
Non-Qatari institutions’ net buying strengthened to QR24.9mn compared to QR19.87mn last Thursday.
GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) institutions’ net buying shot up to QR19.65mn against QR0.28mn on August 11.
GCC investors’ net buying also increased to QR1.89mn compared to QR0.03mn the previous trading day.
Local retail investors’ net profit-booking weakened marginally to QR7.98mn against QR8.99mn last Thursday.
However, domestic institutions’ net selling increased perceptibly to QR39.88mn compared to QR15.99mn on August 11.
Non-Qatari individual investors’ net buying weakened to QR0.92mn against QR4.8mn the previous day.
Total trade volume fell 11% to 6.77mn shares, value by 17% to QR230.58mn and deals by 2% to 4,031.
There was a 38% plunge in the transport sector’s trade volume to 0.18mn equities, 46% in value to QR7.32mn and 22% in transactions to 194.
The industrials sector’s trade volume plunged 28% to 0.86mn stocks, value by 55% to QR36.52mn and deals by 31% to 685.
The banks and financial services sector saw a 19% shrinkage in trade volume to 1.75mn shares and 1% in value to QR74.05mn but on a 5% jump in transactions to 1,199.
The telecom sector’s trade volume declined 13% to 0.77mn equities, value by 19% to QR20.57mn and deals by 3% to 483.
The market witnessed an 11% fall in the insurance sector’s trade volume to 0.08mn stocks and 14% in value to QR5.7mn but on a 2% rise in transactions to 110.
The real estate sector’s trade volume was down 5% to 2.25mn shares and value by 5% to QR43.6mn, while deals gained 12% to 767.
However, the consumer goods sector reported a 40% surge in trade volume to 0.87mn equities, 34% in value to QR42.82mn and 30% in transactions to 593.
In the debt market, there was no trading of treasury bills and government bonds.
