The Qatar Stock Exchange on Wednesday witnessed domestic funds turn bullish, yet it settled marginally lower but above 9,600 levels.
Robust buying interests in telecom and real estate counters were contained by strong selling especially in the insurance segment, thus leading the 20-stock Qatar Index settle 0.05% lower at 9,613.78 points.
Doha Bank and Masraf Al Rayan sponsored exchange traded funds QETF and QATR however witnessed 0.55% and 1.76% gains respectively.
The Islamic stocks were seen gaining vis-à-vis declines in the other indices on the market, which reported 12.79% year-to-date gains.
Non-Qatari funds’ buying interests substantially weakened on the bourse, whose capitalisation was down 0.02% to QR523.86bn, dragged by small and midcap scrips.
Trade turnover and volumes were on the decline on the market, where telecom and banking sectors together accounted for 68% of the total volume.
The Total Return Index fell 0.05% to 16,938.41 points and All Share Index by 0.02% to 2,765.04 points, while Al Rayan Islamic Index (Price) rose 0.04% to 2,356.67 points.
The insurance index declined 0.87%, industrials (0.1%) and banks and financial services (0.08%); whereas telecom gained 0.72%, realty (0.24%), telecom (0.15%) and consumer goods (0.11%).
About 50% of the traded stocks were in the red with major losers being Qatar Insurance, Islamic Holding Group, Al Khaliji, Qatar Islamic Bank, Commercial Bank, QIIB and Vodafone Qatar; whereas Ooredoo, Aamal Company, Ezdan, Mazaya Qatar, Zad Holding, Dlala, Masraf Al Rayan, Medicare Group and Widam Food were among the gainers.
Non-Qatari institutions’ net buying weakened considerably to QR24.16mn compared to QR112.73mn on Tuesday.
However, domestic institutions turned net buyers to the tune of QR2.12mn against net sellers of QR0.61mn the previous day.
The Gulf institutions were also net buyers to the extent of QR0.42mn compared with net sellers of QR7.22mn on July 24.
The Gulf individual investors turned net buyers to the tune of QR0.12mn against net profit takers of QR1.38mn on Tuesday.
Local individual investors’ net selling weakened substantially to QR24.33mn compared to QR98.08mn the previous day.
Non-Qatari individual investors’ net profit booking declined perceptibly to QR2.46mn against QR5.48mn on July 24.
Total trade volume fell 8% to 7.75mn shares, value by 20% to QR246.3mn and transactions by 25% to 3,102.
The industrials sector’s trade volume plummeted 61% to 0.49mn equities, value by 50% to QR26.99mn and deals by 39% to 649.
There was 53% plunge in insurance sector’s trade volume to 0.17mn stocks and 54% in value to QR5.94mn but on 17% growth in transactions to 126.
The transport sector’s trade volume tanked 46% to 0.52mn shares, value by 48% to QR9.71mn and deals by 23% to 247.
The banks and financial services sector saw 35% shrinkage in trade volume to 1.85mn equities, 10% in value to QR128.97mn and 38% in transactions to 947.
The real estate sector’s trade volume shrank 16% to 0.97mn stocks, while value grew 13% to QR17.17mn and deals by 3% to 406.
The consumer goods sector reported 6% decline in trade volume to 0.32mn shares, 50% in value to QR18.51mn and 32% in transactions to 239.
However, the telecom sector’s trade volume more than doubled to 3.42mn equities and value soared 62% to QR39.01mn and deals by 37% to 488.
In the debt market, there was no trading of treasury bills and sovereign bonds.
