Doha: Qatar Exchange continued its losing streak yesterday slipping 14.63 points or 0.16 percent to hit 9,231.56 points from the previous closing of 9,246.19 points.
The volume of shares traded fell to 9,436,280 from 10,321,591 on Thursday, and the value of shares decreased to QR341,740,215.11 from QR372,673,156.16 on Thursday.
Among the top losers were Industries Qatar whose share dropped 0.74 percent to QR161.70, Commercial Bank of Qatar lost 0.86 percent to QR69.00, International Islamic Bank fell 0.75 percent to QR53.20 and Qatar Insurance was down 1.13 percent to QR61.40.
The banking and financial sector lost 0.08 points while the insurance sector was down 0.63 points. The industrial sector dropped 0.45 points and the services sector fell 0.03 points.
Meanwhile, Dubai’s bourse suffered its largest one-day drop in 15 months yesterday, while other regional markets were mixed as a lack of positive catalysts spurred investors to cash in early-year gains. Trading volumes thinned in a typical summer lull.
The main Dubai index fell 2.6 percent to 2,300 points, a four-week low, in its biggest one-day loss since March 2012. The drop triggered a bearish right triangle formed by the highs and lows since early June, and pointing down to near the 2,100-point area.
However, traders generally blamed profit-taking after this year’s gains of more than 40 percent, rather than any fundamental worsening of Dubai’s outlook, and did not think the drop indicated Dubai would become dominated by the bearishness engulfing many other emerging markets. Because of currency pegs and high oil prices, Dubai and other Gulf markets appear well-protected from the US interest rate rises which are hurting other markets.
“The market is slowing down — it’s the end of the quarter and summer is here,” said Mohab Maher, senior manager of the institutional desk at Mena Corp.
Trading volume fell to 200 million shares; turnover usually falls after May as traders and investors take holidays to escape the summer heat. The index is still up 42 percent year-to-date.
Builder Arabtec lost 5.3 percent. After the close, the company said it was extending the period for its $650m rights issue, due to end on Sunday, to July 4 to allow investors outside the United Arab Emirates to buy into it.
The company said the extension was at the request of shareholders. Earlier, a source familiar with the plan had said on condition of anonymity that the rights issue period was expected to be extended after the entire amount was not taken up by shareholders.
Abu Dhabi’s benchmark fell 1.9 percent, its biggest daily drop this year.
Analysts expect Gulf markets to be lacklustre in coming weeks, partly because of uncertainty before second-quarter earnings announcements. Saudi Arabia kicks off its earnings season in mid-July, while UAE companies will mostly report from early August onwards.
In Saudi Arabia, banks helped lift the bourse after two flat trading sessions; the benchmark climbed 0.5 percent. Banks rose after official data showed lending to the private sector in May rose 16.5 percent, the fastest clip since February 2009, after a 16.0 percent increase in the previous month.
Firass Yaish, business development manager at One Financial Market, said the lending growth figures had provided only a short-term stimulus.
“Even though there was a pick-up in lending, the picture will only be brighter for the banks when the interest rates are raised, enhancing the banks’ profit margins and potential growth,” he said.
Shares in Riyad Bank rose 1.4 percent. The firm said it would distribute first-half dividends of SR975m ($260m) or SR0.65 a share.
Agencies
