An across the board buying – particularly in the realty and banking counters – helped the 20-stock Qatar Index gain 0.56% to 10,425.89 points, defying the global trends.
Trade turnover and volumes were also on the increase in the bourse, whose year-to-date losses were contained at mere 0.03%.
Islamic stocks were seen gaining faster than the conventional ones in the market, where banking, telecom and real estate sectors constituted more than 72% of the total volumes.
Large and small cap equities saw heavy demand from the investors in the bourse, where Gulf institutions turned bullish and there was also increased net buying by Gulf individual investors.
However, local retail investors were increasingly net profit takers and their non-Qatari counterparts turned bearish.
Market capitalisation rose 0.64% or about QR4bn to QR560.82bn as large, small, micro and midcap equities gained 0.64%, 0.47%, 0.38% and 0.25% respectively.
The Total Return Index shot up 0.56% to 16,868.4 points, All Share Index by 0.59% to 2,876.33 points and Al Rayan Islamic Index by 0.64% to 3,907.36 points.
Real estate stocks appreciated 1.07%, banks and financial services (0.81%), telecom (0.48%), insurance (0.43%), transport (0.25%), industrials (0.11%) and consumer goods (0.07%).
More than 68% of the traded equities extended gains with major movers being QNB, Ezdan, Ooredoo, Qatar Insurance, Gulf Warehousing, Nakilat, Masraf Al Rayan, Doha Bank, Qatar National Cement, Qatari Investors Group, Mesaieed Petrochemical Holding, United Development Company and Qatar First Bank.
Nevertheless, Commercial Bank, Mannai Corporation, Aamal Company, Gulf International Services, Mazaya Qatar, Barwa and Milaha saw their scrips lose sheen.
Non-Qatari institutions’ net buying strengthened perceptibly to QR18.8mn compared to QR9.07mn on October 16.
The GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) institutions were net buyers to the tune of QR0.33mn against net sellers of QR1.81mn on Sunday.
The GCC individual investors’ net buying increased to QR2.05mn compared to QR1.49mn the previous day.
However, local retail investors’ net profit booking rose to QR19.44mn against QR18.99mn on October 16.
Domestic institutions’ net buying declined influentially to QR2.59mn compared to QR6.8mn on Sunday.
Non-Qatari individual investors turned net sellers to the extent of QR4.34mn against net buyers of QR3.44mn the previous day.
Total trade volume rose 51% to 3.69mn shares to more than double value to QR173.76mn on 51% jump in deals to 2,844.
The transport sector’s trade volume more than doubled to 0.44mn equities and value almost tripled to QR20.62mn on 73% increase in transactions to 401.
The insurance sector’s trade volume doubled to 0.06mn stocks and value more than doubled to QR3.9mn but on 7% fall in deals to 54.
There was 85% surge in the real estate sector’s trade volume to 0.63mn shares, 71% in value to QR11.87mn and 46% in transactions to 310.
The consumer goods sector’s trade volume soared 71% to 0.24mn equities to lift the value more than six-fold to QR37.28mn on 83% expansion in deals to 300.
The telecom sector reported 63% increase in trade volume to 0.93mn stocks to more than double value to QR19.52mn on more than tripled transactions to 373.
The banks and financial services sector saw 17% jump in trade volume to 1.1mn shares, 87% in value to QR56.93mn and 41% in deals to 949.
The industrials sector’s trade volume expanded 16% to 0.29mn equities, value by 73% to QR23.63mn and transactions by 9% to 457.
In the debt market, there was no trading of treasury bills and government bonds.