Foreign institutions’ sustained buying interests and weakened selling pressure from the domestic counterparts on Monday lifted the Qatar Stock Exchange.

Telecom, transport and banking counters witnessed higher-than-average demand as the 20-stock Qatar Index settled 0.17% higher at 10,671.56 points.

The weakened selling pressure from Gulf funds also had its role on the market, whose sensitive index settled 3.62% year-to-date.

Market capitalisation grew QR0.63mn or 0.1% to QR610.77bn mainly owing to mid and small cap segments.

Islamic equities were seen making equivalent gains as the main index on the market, where local retail investors were increasingly profit takers.

Trade turnover grew amidst lower volumes in the bourse, where industrials, realty and banking sectors together accounted for more than 82% of the total volume.

The Total Return Index gained 0.17% to 18,802.1 points and Al Rayan Islamic Index (Price) by 0.17% to 2,495.65 points; while All Share Index was down 0.05% to 3,208.51 points.

The telecom index soared 1.27%, transport (0.95%), banks and financial services (0.41%) and industrials (0.11%); while real estate declined 1.99%, insurance (1.11%) and consumer goods (0.17%).

Major gainers included Ooredoo, Gulf Warehousing, Nakilat, Qatar Electricity and Water, Widam Food, Al Meera, QNB and Qatar Islamic Bank; even as Ezdan, Qatar First Bank, Woqod, Qatari Investors Group, Gulf International Services and Mesaieed Petrochemical Holding were among the losers.

Non-Qatari institutions’ net buying increased considerably to QR62.58mn compared to QR54.3mn on January 13.

Domestic institutions’ net profit booking declined influentially to QR7.55mn against QR12.06mn the previous day.

The Gulf institutions’ net selling also weakened marginally to QR6.04mn compared to QR6.83mn on Sunday.

However, local individuals’ net selling strengthened significantly to QR46.79mn against QR34.02mn on January 13.

Non-Qatari individuals’ net profit booking grew perceptibly to QR1.82mn compared to QR1.31mn the previous day.

The Gulf individual investors’ net selling expanded noticeably to QR0.39mn against QR0.09mn on Sunday.

Total trade volume fell 18% to 7.61mn shares, while value grew 20% to QR275.7mn and transactions by 32% to 7,493.

The telecom sector reported 42% plunge in trade volume to 0.42mn equities, 57% in value to QR9.75mn and 20% in deals to 379.

The banks and financial services sector’s trade volume plummeted 40% to 1.76mn stocks, where value rose 44% to QR108.23mn and transactions by 94% to 1,948.

The industrials sector saw 24% shrinkage in trade volume to 2.67mn shares, 1% in value to QR80.82mn and 4% in deals to 2,650.

The consumer goods sector’s trade volume was down 2% to 0.42mn equities, while value expanded 61% to QR27.53mn and transactions by 16% to 475.

However, there was 58% surge in the transport sector’s trade volume to 0.3mn stocks, 76% in value to QR7.6mn and 55% in deals to 344.

The real estate sector’s trade volume soared 43% to 1.82mn shares and value by 66% to QR34.7mn on more than doubled transactions to 1,436.

The market witnessed 21% increase in the insurance sector’s trade volume to 0.23mn equities and 4% in value to QR7.07mn on almost doubled deals to 261.

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

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