Doha: Banks helped lift Qatar stocks yesterday before the market closed for long Eid Al Fitr holidays. The benchmark index surged 1.49 percent or 151.9 points to close at 10,319.33.
All the big banks rose sharply lifting the banking sector by 2.34 percent. Bellwether QNB rose 1.64 percent as Commercial Bank surged 6.4 percent. Masraf Al Rayan jumped 2.83 percent ad QIB and Doha Bank and International Islamic added 2.25 percent, 2.58 percent and 2.06 percent, respectively. Foreign Institutional investors were the net buyers. Market cap expanded to QR567.688bn.
Qatar’s stock exchange is developing two new Exchange Traded Funds, part of efforts by the Middle East’s strongest performing stock market in 2018 to boost foreign investment, Reuters reported recently. Companies on Qatar’s exchange in 2018 increased foreign ownership limits to 49 percent, most of which had previously been set at 25 percent, drawing a flood of cash that helped to boost the main index by more than 20 percent last year.
Qatar Central Securities Depository (QCSD) announced it had amended the foreign ownership percentage of Doha Insurance Group to become 49 percent of the company’s capital.
QSE yesterday announced it would start implementing stock splits from June 9, starting with the Banks and Financial stocks. Market watchers hope the implementation of stock splits would help boost the size of QSE’s daily trade volume.
QSE will be closed for Eid Al Fitr holidays for three working days starting today and will reopen on Sunday, June 9, after the weekend.
