Doha: Qatar Exchange pursued its upswing trend yesterday, adding 11.48 points or 0.14 percent to advance to 8,407.53 points from 8,396.05 on Tuesday.
The volume of the shares traded fell to 2,560,632 from 3,305,854 on Tuesday and the value of shares decreased to QR102,401,839.77 from QR142,074,540.67 on Tuesday.
Among the top gainers were Doha Bank which was up 0.97 percent to QR52.00, National Leasing rose 0.66 percent to QR45.70, Qatar Navigation gained 0.64 percent to QR63.20 and Gulf International up by 0.51 percent to QR29.45.
The banking and financial sector index up 2.88 points while consumer goods and services sector index added 9.16 points. The industrial sector gained 0.48 points while insurance sector rose 1.88 points.
Meanwhile, Egypt’s bourse rebounded from a 12-week low yesterday after the country reached an initial agreement with the International Monetary Fund for a loan, while Gulf Arab markets were mixed as prolonged violence in Gaza kept investors cautious.
Egypt said on Tuesday that the $4.8bn deal included an agreement to rein in its state budget deficit with measures including tax changes targeting the wealthy and more careful spending on subsidies intended to help the poor.
“The market is up for the time being because of the preliminary agreement signed with the IMF but I think it will be short-lived,” said a Cairo-based trader who asked not to be identified because he was not authorised to speak to the media.
Cairo’s benchmark rose 1.3 percent, snapping a four-session losing streak. In Saudi Arabia, the main benchmark slipped 0.8 percent to a four-month low in its 10th straight decline.
Most sectors fell with petrochemical and banks the main drags. Saudi Basic Industries Corp (Sabic) dipped 0.6 percent, Saudi Arabian Fertilizers fell 1.5 percent and Al Rajhi Bank shed 0.4 percent.
“Markets will remain cautious for the time being,” said Shahid Hameed, Global Investment House head of asset management for the Gulf region. “It’s generally a good season with earnings and dividends underpinning the season, but geopolitical risk and negative global macro headwinds are not conducive for markets.”
Elsewhere in the Gulf, Abu Dhabi’s benchmark fell 0.7 percent to a five-week low, while Dubai rose for a second day and Qatar was near-flat.
Agencies
