Doha: Qatar Stock Exchange index yesterday dropped 87.45 points, or 0.69 percent when it closed at 12,605.46 points from Sunday’s position of 12,692.91 points.
The traded value decreased to QR437.33m with a volume of 9,695,624 shares from 4,988 transactions compared with QR625.64m with a volume of 16,348,739 shares from 6,912 transactions on Sunday.
Banking and financial services index dropped 1.05 percent to 3,269.27 points, real estate dropped 0.83 percent to 2,561.88 points, telecoms dropped 0.48 percent to 1,440.8 points and transport dropped 0.42 percent to 2,468.23 points.
Insurance sector gained the most, up 1.55 percent to 4,075.7 points. Shares of 23 companies closed lower, 13 gained while four remained unchanged.
All real estate companies made ended the day in red. Barwa share was down QR0.70 to QR48.50, Ezdan lost QR0.09 to QR17.36, Mazaya Qatar was down QR0.20 to QR20.80 and United Development Company lost QR0.25 to QR24.25.
From consumer goods sector, Medicare share continued its good run, gaining 2.78 percent when it closed at QR148 from QR144 on Sunday.
Elsewhere in the region, Dubai and Egypt fell ahead of a new dual listing on both markets by Orascom Construction and other Gulf stock exchanges were also weak after an oil rally stuttered.
Brent crude, which surged at the end of last week, was nearly flat by 1000 GMT when most Gulf markets closed, with an oversupply continuing to weigh on the market despite data showing Japan had pulled out of recession.
But crude edged up later in the day after Kuwait’s oil minister said lower supply levels would support prices in the second half of the year.
Still, the main index on Saudi Arabia’s later-closing bourse slipped 0.3 percent, giving back some of the previous day’s 2.3 percent gain.
Dubai’s index fell 3.3 percent with most stocks in the red.
Emaar Properties, the emirate’s largest listed developer, dropped 3.6 percent after posting a 14 percent increase in fourth-quarter profit. The stock surged 4.6 percent ahead of the earnings release on Sunday.
Banking sector stocks fell both in Dubai and Abu Dhabi as the latter’s main benchmark fell 1.0 percent.
QNA/Reuters
