Doha: The Qatar Exchange index added 43.88 points, or 0.45 percent advance to 9,806.58 points from 9,762.70 on Monday.
The volume of the shares traded up to 8,916,057 from 8,221,675 on Monday and the value of shares increased to QR351,233,378.42 from QR345,578,297.52 on Monday.
Among the top gainers were Qatar National Bank which was up 1.87 percent to QR174.70, Commercial Bank of Qatar gained 1.03 percent to QR68.90, Electricity and Water gained 1.41 percent to QR158.60 and Ooredoo up by 1.72 percent to QR142.
The Banking and Financial sector index added 0.92 points while Consumer Goods and Services sector index gained 0.25 points. The industrial sector lost 0.13 points while the insurance sector fell 0.10 points.
Meanwhile, most other Gulf share markets declined yesterday, as caution ahead of the US central bank meeting that may decide on cutting back monetary stimulus spurred moderate profit-taking after a strong rebound in recent sessions.
Because of its current account and state budget surpluses, the Gulf is more able than most regions to withstand any decision by the US Federal Reserve to reduce stimulus at its meeting this Tuesday and Wednesday.
So Gulf markets are likely to outperform if the Fed announces a stronger-than-expected tightening of policy. Nevertheless, markets had surged over the past few days as the prospect of US military action in Syria receded, so investors were happy to sell some shares yesterday.
Dubai’s index fell 1.1 percent, down for a second day since Sunday’s three-week high.
“Across the board, there’s a consolidation phase and some profit-taking was expected after last week’s performance,” said Marwan Shurrab, fund manager and head of trading at Vision Investments. “Investors are in a wait-and-see mode on how the Fed will react.”
Abu Dhabi’s measure slipped 0.1 percent, trimming year-to-date gains to 43.6 percent.
“As long as geopolitical tensions are limited, the bullish trend in Gulf markets is sustainable, backed by local economic growth and recoveries in global economies in 2013, which are expected to continue next year,” Shurrab added.
Dubai and possibly Abu Dhabi face a major shift in coming months: a resumption of initial public offers by companies after years of inactivity. Bank of London and The Middle East, Britain’s largest stand-alone Islamic bank, said on Monday it plans to seek a $500m listing on Nasdaq Dubai next month in what would be the emirate’s first stock listing for over four years.
But there is no sign that the volume of IPOs will be large enough to dampen markets overall - in fact, the IPOs may stimulate fresh investor interest.
Many United Arab Emirates companies appear likely to continue favouring overseas listings, reducing the pressure on local markets. Dubai’s DAMAC Properties has hired Deutsche Bank and Citigroup Inc to help arrange an IPO in London, two banking sources said yesterday.
In Egypt, the index edged up 0.1 percent, gaining for an eighth consecutive session, but trading volume dipped to a week-low - suggesting the rally may soon end without concrete, positive news about the economy or the country’s difficult transition to democracy.
Agencies
