The Qatar Stock Exchange, which on Sunday reopened after Eid holidays, witnessed a rollercoaster drive with its key index making quick gains in the first half to touch 10,400 levels, but profit booking pressure later drove it 24 points down to settle below the 10,300 level.
The day, which saw two of its constituents Commercial Bank and Qatar First Bank, implement the stock split, was witness to a 0.23% fall in the 20-stock Qatar Index to 10,295.78 points.
Foreign institutions were seen net profit takers in the market, which reported year-to-date losses of 0.03%.
Market capitalisation eroded 0.37%, or more than QR2bn, to QR565.59bn mainly owing to small and microcap segments.
Islamic equities were seen gaining vis-à-vis declines in the other indices in the market, where domestic institutions were seen bullish.
Trade turnover and volumes were on the decline in the bourse, where the realty, banking and industrials sectors together accounted for more than 84% of the total volume.
The Total Return Index declined 0.23% to 18,945.1 points and the All Share Index by 0.34% to 3,041.09 points, while the Al Rayan Islamic Index (Price) was up 0.19% to 2,364.31 points.
The realty index shrank 1.15%, transport (0.68%), insurance (0.56%), banks and financial services (0.47%) and industrials (0.42%); whereas consumer goods gained 2.11% and telecom 0.1%.
Major losers included Commercial Bank, QNB, Mannai Corporation, Ezdan, Barwa, Mazaya Qatar and Milaha; even as more than 51% of the traded constituents extended gains with prime movers being Qatar Islamic Bank, Ahlibank Qatar, Qatar First Bank, Islamic Holding Group, Qatar Oman Investment, Woqod, Al Khaleej Takaful and Doha Insurance.
Non-Qatari institutions turned net sellers to the tune of QR16.31mn against net buyers of QR164.9mn last Thursday.
The Gulf institutions’ net buying declined noticeably to QR0.37mn compared to QR4.53mn the previous trading day.
Non-Qatari individual investors’ net buying weakened marginally to QR0.72mn against QR1.06mn on June 3.
However, domestic institutions turned net buyers to the extent of QR14.57mn compared with net sellers of QR131.02mn last Thursday.
Local retail investors were also net buyers to the tune of QR0.22mn against net sellers of QR39.57mn the previous trading day.
The Gulf individual investors’ net buying strengthened perceptibly to QR0.43mn compared to QR0.04mn on June 3.
Total trade volume fell 17% to 10.46mn shares, value by 56% to QR195.61mn and transactions by 25% to 6,918.
The telecom sector’s trade volume plummeted 49% to 0.38mn equities, value by 56% to QR7.88mn and deals by 53% to 470.
There was a 36% plunge in the transport sector’s trade volume to 0.16mn stocks, 43% in value to QR3.69mn and 72% in transactions to 68.
The insurance sector’s trade volume tanked 34% to 0.23mn shares, value by 59% to QR4.81mn and deals by 35% to 152.
The real estate sector reported a 22% shrinkage in trade volume to 3.78mn equities, 34% in value to QR33.94mn and 14% in transactions to 3,146.
The industrials sector’s trade volume shrank 20% to 2.03mn stocks, value by 55% to QR29.67mn and deals by 28% to 1,327.
The banks and financial services sector saw a 16% contraction in trade volume to 2.98mn shares, 69% in value to QR84.42mn and 37% in transactions to 1,198.
However, the consumer goods sector’s trade volume tripled to 0.9mn equities and value more than doubled to QR31.2mn on an 83% growth in deals to 557.
In the debt market, there was no trading of treasury bills and sovereign bonds.
