Doha: Qatar’s bourse added 0.3 percent, or 43.4 points, to close at 12,667.33 points as Qatar International Islamic Bank jumped 3.2 percent. The lender reported a 10 percent increase in 2014 net profit and proposed a cash dividend of QR4 per share yesterday, up from QR3.75 it paid for 2013.
The traded value reached QR1.313bn with a volume of 42,364,854 shares from 12,350 transactions yesterday.
Indices of five sectors gained, while industries and telecommunications went down slightly.
Insurance sector advanced the most, with a 1.24 percent gain to hit 3,967.99 points followed by real estate, which was up 0.73 percent to 2,600.84 points. 20 companies gained, 18 went down while four remained unchanged.
Qatar Industrial Manufacturing Company share led the gainers with a 6.81 percent increase to touch QR51 from the previous closing at QR 47.75. Barwa Real Estate share dropped 3.62 percent to QR49.25.
Other stock markets in the region were mixed yesterday as the oil price rally continued, while some news was negative for local companies. Dubai outperformed the region as its index rose 1.2 percent and neared major technical resistance.
Saudi Arabia’s stock index rose 0.5 percent to 9,390 points, closing above its 100-day average, now at 9,325 points, for the second session in a row, a positive technical sign.
Abu Dhabi’s benchmark edged up 0.6 percent. Kuwait’s index slipped 0.1 percent and National Industries Group, owned by the Kharafi family, fell 1.0 percent after a technical committee in the public works ministry recommended that all bids to build a new terminal at the country’s international airport be rejected. Egypt’s stock market edged down 0.7 percent as some of the recent top gainers pulled back.
QNA/Reuters
