Doha: Qatar Stock Exchange index closed 158.44 points, or 1.27 percent, lower when it closed yesterday at 12,291.90 points from Monday’s position of 12,450.34 points.
The traded value decreased to QR406.49m with a volume of 8,557,766 shares from 5,472 transactions compared with QR509.16m with a volume of 10,074,849 shares from 5,959 transactions on Monday.
Indices of all sectors ended red zone barring transport which gained 0.76 percent (2,490.01 points) to continue its Monday’s gain of 1.24 percent to 2,471.25 points. Industries index dropped the most, down 1.50 percent to 4,018.47 points while real estate index falling 1.33 percent to 2,416.93 points.
Shares of 30 companies closed lower yesterday, nine gained while two remained unchanged.
Meanwhile, other regional stock markets were mixed yesterday, guided by economic data and dividends, while Egypt edged up on the back of property stocks after reports about plans to build a new $80bn capital city from scratch.
Saudi Arabia’s main stock index rose 1.1 percent after strong purchasing managers index (PMI) data. Growth in the kingdom’s non-oil private sector accelerated to a four-month high in February as lavish handouts to citizens by the new king buoyed the economy despite the plunge in oil prices, the SABB HSBC survey showed.
“The latest whole economy PMIs from the Mena region provide further evidence that the fall in oil prices hasn’t caused activity in the Gulf economies to collapse, as some had feared,” Jason Tuvey, Middle East economist at London-based Capital Economics, said in a note.
Investors’ attention shifted back from the property sector to banks and petrochemicals which had traded nearly flat in the previous few sessions. Petrochemicals giant Saudi Basic Industries rose 1.4 percent as Brent oil recovered some of Monday’s losses, jumping two percent.
Alinma Bank, which will pay a dividend of 0.5 riyal per share next week, was the most traded stock and jumped 2.2 percent.
Other Gulf markets were less positive. In the United Arab Emirates, business activity growth in the non-oil private sector slowed to a five-month low in February but remained strong and above the average for 2014, according to the HSBC PMI survey.
Abu Dhabi’s market edged up 0.2 percent on the back of First Gulf Bank, which rose 1.4 percent. The lender will pay a dividend of 1.00 dirham per share on Thursday. Union National Bank, which will make its annual payout of 0.25 dirham next week, jumped 2.8 percent. Dubai’s index fell 0.8 percent as most stocks declined. Builder Arabtec, which has not yet commented on media reports saying its $40bn Egyptian project has stalled again, fell 0.7 percent.
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