Doha: Qatar Exchange index added 37.66 points (0.38 percent) to hits 9,952.87 points from the previous closing of 9,915.21 points on Tuesday.
The volume of the shares traded was up to 10,614,647 from 9,209,695 on Tuesday and the value of shares decreased to QR511,882,908.49 from QR530,010,010.35 on Tuesday.
Among the top gainers were Qatar National Bank whose share rose 0.06 percent to QR166.60, Qatar Islamic Bank whose share added 0.59 percent to QR68.70, United Development Company gained 2.03 percent to QR 22.59 and Industries Qatar increased by 1.18 percent to QR163.50.
The Banking and Financial sector index added 0.22 percent while Consumer Goods and Services sector index lost 0.19 percent. The Industrial Sector gained 0.73 percent while insurance sector down 0.38 percent.
“There’s a lot of institutional buying - they’re aggressively building positions,” said Ahmed Shehada, head of trading at QNB Financial Services. “With the current momentum, the market could very well break the year’s high.”
The buying could be positioning for full-year dividends. Investors tend to buy ahead of dividend announcements, which begin at the end of the first quarter. Qatari firms pay among the highest dividends in the region.
Meanwhile, Egypt’s bourse made its biggest one-day gain in almost two months yesterday as it resumed trading after a public holiday that passed peacefully following the start of ousted president Mohammed Mursi’s trial.
The index jumped 2.4 percent to its highest level since January 2011, the biggest one-day move up since Sept. 10.
“People were expecting violence in reaction to Mursi’s trial over the holiday, but nothing happened and things are easing up,” said Ashraf Akhnoukh, co-head of sales trading at CIBC Brokerage.
Sentiment was lifted across the board with only three stocks on the 30-stock index in decline.
Commercial International Bank rose 4.1 percent and Juhanya Food Industries advances 6.4 percent despite a 23-percent drop in quarterly profit announced on Tuesday.
Elsewhere, Saudi Arabia measure extended gains for a sixth straight session and edged up 0.2 percent to its highest level since August 22.
Petrochemical shares index advanced one percent as Saudi Basic Industries Corp (Sabic) climbed 1.5 percent. Investors have started shifting their focus away from sectors like retail after third-quarter earnings showed improved growth in petrochemical firms.
In Oman, the benchmark climbed 0.2 percent, up for a seventh consecutive session. Upbeat earnings helped the measure rise 5.5 percent since it slumped to a two-month low in early September.
Agencies
