Doha: Qatar Exchange index slipped by 29.53 points, or 0.30 percent, to 9,731.50 points from the previous closing of 9,761.03 points.
The volume of the shares fell to 3,697,442 from 6,905,717 on Thursday and the value of shares decreased to QR166,825,684.79 from QR289,735,174.91 on Thursday.
Among the top losers were Qatar Insurance whose share dropped 0.17 percent to QR60.50, Ooredoo lost 0.78 percent to QR139.80, Islamic Insurance fell 0.70 percent to QR56.60 and Vodafone Qatar down by 0.33 percent to QR9.04.
The Banking and Financial sector index dropped 0.23 points while Consumer Goods and Services sector index was down 0.45 points. The industrial sector lost 0.26 points while insurance sector fell 0.59 points.
Meanwhile, other Gulf markets were mixed yesterday as investors were cautious ahead of third-quarter earnings reports and Eid holidays that could coincide with major developments in the US government’s crisis over its funding and debt ceiling.
Saudi Arabia’s bourse sank as much as 1.7 percent on what traders said was pre-holiday profit-taking, before closing down just 0.2 percent.
Gulf markets will be wholly or partially closed next week for Eid Al Adha, with Saudi Arabia shut for the entire week. While most investors are not gravely worried by the US political turmoil, expecting it to be resolved before major damage is done to the US economy or markets, the holidays will leave them exposed during a critical period.
Shares in Saudi dairy producer Almarai slipped 0.5 percent after its third-quarter net profit fell marginally short of analysts’ estimates.
Saudi retailer Jarir Marketing, on the other hand, climbed 0.8 percent after reporting results that were slightly better than estimates.
In Dubai, the main index fell 0.3 percent to 2,815 points after 14-day momentum posted a negative divergence — a classic technical sign of a pause in an uptrend. The index has immediate chart support around 2,750 points, where it peaked in August.
The government’s plans to boost the Islamic finance sector, announced on Saturday, had a mixed effect on stocks in the sector. Dubai said it would focus on developing its Islamic re-insurance sector, which it believes has lagged the growth of Islamic insurance.
Dubai Islamic Bank gained 0.8 percent and Dubai Islamic Insurance and Reinsurance Co was up 1.0 percent. But Dar Al Takaful fell 1.2 percent and Takaful Emarat was down 2.8 percent.
Shares in Gulf Finance House jumped after it announced the departure of chairman Essam Janahi and named Ahmed Al Mutawa as his replacement. The Bahrain-listed shares rose 7.7 percent, the Kuwait listing was up 6.5 percent and in Dubai, the stock surged 10.6 percent.
Egypt’s main index rose 0.6 percent on the view that the country’s transition to democracy is progressing, despite the difficulties. Foreign investors were net buyers of stocks by a considerable margin, according to bourse data.
“Due to the improvement of the political situation in Egypt we see more investor interest in the Egyptian equity market,” said Ali Adou, portfolio manager at The National Investor in Abu Dhabi.
Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) ended yesterday’s trading in green zone, with a gain of only 0.44 points in the weighted index to read 459.16 points.
The price index also went up by 30.43 points, to read 7,655.07 points, and the KSX 15 gained 3.93 points, to stand at 1,090.62 points.
Agencies
