Doha: Qatar Exchange index ended in the red when trading closed yesterday at 12,969.65 points down 179.90 points, or 1.37 percent, from the previous closing of 13,149.55 points.
The volume of shares fell to 24,456,337 from Sunday’s 29,914,854 and the value of shares increased to QR1,060,470,807.15 from QR932,567,246.70 on Sunday.
Among the top losers were Qatar Islamic Bank whose share was down two percent to QR98.00, Masraf Al Rayan lost 5.01 percent to QR55, Barwa Real Estate fell 1.75 percent to QR42.00 and Vodafone Qatar was down by 2.12 percent to QR19.87.
Meanwhile, Dubai’s bourse fell sharply yesterday as investors booked profits in the region’s best-performing market this year, while Egypt was lifted by the inauguration of a new president and an offer to buy a large stake in investment bank EFG Hermes.
The Dubai benchmark tumbled 4.1 percent to 4,771 points, its biggest decline since May 20. Builder Arabtec led losses, tumbling 9.7 percent to Dh5.42.
The stock has tripled in value this year, making it one Dubai’s most volatile names, and many analysts think it has become overvalued; five out of eight think it is a “sell” or a “strong sell”, while none view it as a “buy”, according to Thomson Reuters data.
“Aggressive selling on Arabtec after it broke below the important neckline support level of 6.25 dirhams brought negative sentiment to other stocks as well,” said Shiv Prakash, senior technical analyst at NBAD Securities.
“Those who were sitting on profits are now booking them, thinking that this pullback may extend. I don’t see any fresh buying volume coming in the market.”
Most people remain optimistic about the Gulf markets in the long term, but with Ramadan and the usual summer lull approaching, fresh catalysts absent and the markets already sitting on big gains — Dubai is up 42 percent year-to-date — the temptation to take profits is strong.
Prakash said the Dubai index could find immediate support at 4,750 points but only a break over 5,200 points would be considered bullish.
Some technical indicators point to a deeper drop; yesterday’s slide confirmed a break on the downside of a symmetrical triangle formed by the highs and lows since mid-May. The pattern suggests the consolidation of the last few weeks will be followed by another leg down: the triangle points to around 4,200 points.
Shares in National Central Cooling Co (Tabreed) slid 7.5 percent yesterday after it said Abu Dhabi state-owned investment fund Mubadala would convert bonds that it holds into 79.4 million new Tabreed shares. The conversion will raise Tabreed’s outstanding shares to 738.5 million, diluting other shareholders.
Abu Dhabi’s bourse also continued to retreat, down 1.0 percent, although the two biggest banks, National Bank of Abu Dhabi and First Gulf Bank, reversed early-session losses and edged up 1.0 and 0.3 percent respectively.
The United Arab Emirates central bank warned on Sunday that low residential rental yields in Dubai and Abu Dhabi might indicate growing imbalances and overheating in the real estate sector. It is by no means clear that authorities will take any fresh action at the federal or local level to cool the sector, but the warning was another source of concern for investors.
Egypt’s index added 1.1 percent yesterday after Abdel Fattah Al Sisi was sworn in as president on Sunday, a public holiday.
QNA/Reuters
