Doha: Qatar Exchange index edged close to 14,000 mark with a gain of 91.64 points, or 0.66 percent, when the bourse closed at 13,901.08 points yesterday.
The trading value increased to QR1.11bn from to QR815.773m registered on Tuesday. Trading volume rose to 16,470,188 shares from 9,033 transactions compared to 12,104,934 shares from 8,491 transactions on Tuesday.
Market capitalisation jumped to QR751.87bn from QR748.824bn.
All indices ended in the green zone except insurance sector which dipped slightly by 0.05 percent. Telecoms index gained the most, up 0.98 percent followed by consumer goods and services, up 0.97 percent.
From the 43 listed companies, 29 advanced, 11 declined and three remained unchanged.
Barwa real estate company led gainers yesterday. Its share was up 3.12 percent to QR52.90 with a traded value of QR80.90m and a volume of 1,559,239 shares from 669 transactions.
Al Khaleej Takaful share jumped 3.07 percent to QR57 with a traded value of QR17.11m and a volume of 301,522 shares from 190 transactions.
Gulf Warehousing Company share was busy yesterday, gaining 2.17 percent to close at QR65.90 with a traded value of QR125.86m and a volume of 1,900,786 shares from 546 transactions. Qatar National Bank share was down 0.48 percent to QR229 at close after going up to QR234.90 at 10.58am.
Meanwhile, weak oil prices and global equities kept most other Gulf stock markets jittery yesterday.
Shares were down in Europe and Asia and crude prices remained near 4-year lows on signs of disagreement between Opec members before a meeting next week.
Dubai’s index erased early-session gains to end 0.9 percent lower as most stocks declined. Low-cost carrier Air Arabia was one of a few gainers, jumping 2.1 percent after it announced a $230m deal with Dubai Islamic Bank to finance the purchase of six new Airbus A320 aircraft in 2015.
Local and regional investors were net sellers, according to bourse data.
Abu Dhabi’s benchmark, up 0.6 percent at one stage, closed 0.1 percent lower as telecom operator Etisalat fell 0.9 percent.
Saudi Arabia’s bourse eked out a 0.1 gain after flitting between black and red zones throughout the day. The petrochemical sector index slipped 0.4 percent.
“Unless oil prices find a floor, the Saudi market will remain jittery,” said Shakeel Sarwar, head of asset management at Securities & Investment Co (SICO) in Bahrain.
“It may continue for some time,” he said, adding that as the region’s biggest market Saudi Arabia affects other Gulf bourses.
And at the end of last week, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain agreed to return their ambassadors to Qatar, signalling an end to an eight-month rift over Doha’s support for Islamist groups.
Elsewhere in the region, Egypt’s main index rose 0.5 percent as the market further recovered from a profit-taking bout and some stocks displayed a delayed reaction to third-quarter earnings.
Agencies
