DOHA: Qatar shares fell sharply yesterday on concerns about fresh oil slump. The benchmark index plunged 2.31 percent, triggered by panic sell-off by local retail investors and foreign institutional investors. As the investors’ sentiment crashed, Qatar bourse main index fell to 12,200 points during the intraday trade, before settling at 12,350. The market, however, was 19.02 percent higher on year-to-date.
The entire sector indices ended red. Real estate, insurance, telecoms and industrials were the worst hit sectors. Commercial Bank, which announced a squeeze-out in its Turkish subsidiary ABank, on Monday, was the lone gainer among the banking stocks. The banking sector slid 1.17 percent, with QIB losing the most. Total value of banking stocks fell to QR172m from Monday’s QR218m.
Market cap declined by QR14bn to QR678bn. Total traded value increased to QR554m from the previous session’s QR416m. Total volume rose to 11 million shares from 7 million shares.
Most stock markets in the Gulf fell sharply after oil prices hit five-year lows, though most fund managers and analysts think the region can cope comfortably with cheaper oil, Reuters reported. Dubai’s market, traditionally the Gulf’s most volatile, tumbled 3.5 percent to 3,889 points, though it closed well above its intra-day low of 3,761 points. It rebounded from near major technical support on its July low of 3,731 points.
Abu Dhabi’s market fell 2.4 percent, while Saudi Arabia’s index fell 1.8 percent as heavyweight Saudi Basic Industries dropped 4.2 percent. The Saudi market is particularly vulnerable to cheap oil because about a third of its capitalisation is in the form of petrochemical firms, which face losing their competitive advantage against foreign rivals due to subsidised feedstock.
The Peninsula
