Banking and telecom stocks continued to hog limelight although the 20-stock Qatar Index settled 0.02% lower at 10,392.15 points.
Islamic stocks were underperforming the market, whose year-to-date losses were seen at 0.36%.
Micro and midcap segments witnessed profit booking on the bourse, where foreign institutions turned bearish and there was lower net buying support from their Gulf counterparts.
Trade turnover rose marginally amid lower volumes in the market, where banking and telecom sector together accounted for about 73% of the total trade volumes.
Market capitalisation gained more than QR1bn or 0.22% to QR560.97bn mainly on a 0.34% increase in large cap equities, even as micro, mid and small caps fell 0.6%, 0.33% and 0.04% respectively.
The Total Return Index was down 0.02% to 16,813.81 points and Al Rayan Islamic Index by 0.14% to 3,857.66 points but All Share Index rose 0.04% to 2,855.52 points.
Insurance sector saw its index shrank 0.92%, transport (0.59%), real estate (0.47%), industrials (0.45%) and consumer goods (0.42%), whereas telecom gained 0.82% and banks and financial services 0.75%.
About 62% of the traded stocks were in the red with major losers being Masraf Al Rayan, Qatar Insurance, Industries Qatar, Qatari Investors Group, Qatar Electricity and Water, Aamal Company, Mesaieed Petrochemical Holding, Barwa, Ezdan, Nakilat, Doha Bank, Commercial Bank, Qatari German Company for Medical Devices and Dlala.
Nevertheless, QNB, Ooredoo, Qatar Islamic Bank, Mazaya Qatar, Gulf International Services and QIIB saw their stocks make modest gains.
Non-Qatari institutions turned net sellers to the tune of QR6.98mn compared with net buyers of QR28.18mn on December 20.
The GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) institutions’ net buying declined to QR27.66mn against QR35.74mn on Tuesday.
Non-Qatari individual investors turned net sellers to the extent of QR0.22mn compared with net buyers of QR0.6mn the previous day.
However, domestic institutions’ net buying strengthened perceptibly to QR6.22mn against QR2.82mn on December 20.
Local retail investors’ net profit booking fell substantially to QR27.31mn compared to QR66.48mn on Tuesday.
The GCC individual investors turned net buyers to the tune of QR0.63mn against net sellers of QR0.82mn the previous day.
Total trade volume fell 14% to 7.85mn shares, while value rose less than 1% to QR317.2mn but on 11% decline in deals to 4,068.
There was a 50% plunge in the insurance sector’s trade volume to 0.11mn equities, 41% in value to QR6.59mn and 21% in transactions to 115.
The consumer goods sector’s trade volume plummeted 44% to 0.45mn stocks, value by 44% to QR10.6mn and deals by 47% to 221.
The telecom sector witnessed 37% shrinkage in trade volume to 0.65mn shares, 25% in value to QR12.42mn and 13% in transactions to 256.
The transport sector’s trade volume tanked 16% to 0.26mn equities, value by 31% to QR9.78mn and deals by 31% to 194.
The banks and financial services sector saw 14% decline in trade volume to 3.58mn stocks but on 7% rise in value to QR191.15mn. Transactions were down 7% to 1,859.
The industrials sector’s trade volume shrank 14% to 0.69mn shares; while value gained 3% to QR44.34mn. Deals fell 9% to 732.
However, the market witnessed 17% increase in the real estate sector’s trade volume to 2.14mn equities, 22% in value to QR42.33mn and 7% in transactions to 691.
In the debt market, there was no trading of treasury bills and government bonds.
