DOHA: On the back of an extended selling pressure Qatar Exchange (QE) declined 223.68 points or 2.29 percent to 9,547.73 points yesterday. All the sector indices ended red with Transportation index and Real Estate index dropping the most.
Transportation tumbled 5.2 percent as Real estate sector shed 4.48 percent. While Industrials lost 2.17 percent Banks and Consumer Goods dropped 1.80 percent and 2.55 percent respectively.
UDC, Industries Qatar, Qatar Navigation and Nakilat were the worst hit. UDC crashed 5.12 percent to QR20.96. Industries Qatar fell 2.16 percent to QR154. While Qatar Navigation slipped 3.38 percent to QR77.20 Nakilat lost 6.57 percent to QR51.20. Ezdan lost 4.52 percent to QR16.90 and Barwa lost 4.13 percent to QR24.35.
QE’s daily trading data shows strong sell-off by foreign investors that pulled the benchmark index below the resistance level for yet another trading session. Market breadth was strongly negative as 40 stocks plunged against a single advance stock.
The volume of the shares was up to 19m from Tuesday’s 12m and the trade value of shares increased to QR770mfrom QR534m.
Meanwhile, other Gulf stock markets stabilised by the close yesterday after plunging in early trade on the prospect of an escalation of Syria’s civil war, as the United States threatened a military strike on Damascus over the use of chemical weapons.
Stocks had also tumbled on Tuesday and selling resumed yesterday morning as local retail investors, who have dominated trade in recent weeks, scrambled to lock in some of the large gains posted this year. Margin calls caused selling to snowball.
But by yesterday afternoon, the pressure from margin calls had eased and some investors were starting to buy back shares.
Dubai’s index, which tumbled 7.0 percent on Tuesday and as much as 7.5 percent yesterday morning, ended the day down just 1.3 percent at 2,516 points, after rebounding sharply from near technical support on its 100-day average at 2,342 points.
Saudi Arabia, which lost 2.1 percent in early trade, ended 0.4 percent higher. As global oil prices climbed in response to the Syrian tensions, some Saudi petrochemical stocks rose in sympathy. Saudi Kayan jumped 2.6 percent and Saudi Basic Industries (SABIC) gained 1.3 percent.
Many analysts and fund managers said the Syrian conflict had merely served as a trigger for a wave of profit-taking that would have happened anyway, given the size of Gulf markets’ gains this year. Dubai is still up 55 percent year-to-date.
The fundamental economic picture in the United Arab Emirates and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries in general is “still very attractive”, said Amer Khan, fund manager at Shuaa Asset Management in Dubai.
Dubai’s trading turnover fell during periods when the market was weak yesterday and increased when it was rebounding — a positive technical sign which suggested substantial buying interest remained at the lows.
Egypt’s market fell sharply yesterday, a sign that investor optimism after last month’s ouster of President Mohamed Mursi was fading and the country’s severe economic difficulties were again weighing on stocks.
The index dropped 2.1 percent to 5,226 points, its lowest close since July 9.
The peninsula/Reuters
