Doha: The Qatar Exchange was down yesterday 40.15 points (0.41pc) to 9,654.55 points from the previous closing of 9,694.70 points.
The volume of shares traded fell to 6,296,827, from 7,068,621 on Thursday.
Among the top losers were Barwa Real Estate that lost 1.3pc to close at QR26.65; Commercial Bank of Qatar that loast 1.44pc to close at QR68.40 and Masraf Al Rayan that was down by 0.53pc to close at QR27.95.
The Qatar Banking and Financial sector lost 0.63 points while the Service sector fell 0.25 points. The Qatar industrial sector lost 0.03 points and Insurance sector was down bny 0.03 points.
Among other markets in the region, Egypt’s bourse fell yesterday but the main reason was a tumble in the shares of heavyweight Orascom Construction Industries, not the deaths of dozens of supporters of ousted president Mohammed Mursi.
Cairo’s index opened higher but then retreated to close 0.7 percent lower in thin turnover. Last week, it hit a two-month high after rallying 20 percent since late June because of hopes for better economic management under Mursi’s successor.
Security forces shot dead dozens of people at the weekend, and there was potential for more bloodshed as thousands of Mursi supporters continued to protest in the streets. But analysts and traders said many investors were willing to accept such violence as long as they thought it would not derail Egypt’s transition to civilian rule in coming months.
“People are optimistic the army got rid of the fascist regime,” said Amr Reda, assistant vice-president for the foreign sales desk at Pharos Securities.
“The violence was expected and the main driver is the stress from the army they will go ahead with the set roadmap,” he added, referring to the military’s transition plan, which aims to hold parliamentary elections within about six months.
The factor which pulled the market down yesterday was a slide in Orascom, the most heavily weighted stock, which fell 5 percent to 238.50 Egyptian pounds as a tender offer for its shares by Dutch-listed affiliate OCI NV expired.
During the tender period, priced at 255 pounds, investors had been buying Orascom to make a profit by selling into the offer, but that incentive disappeared yesterday.
Foreign investors were net buyers yesterday, exchange data showed.
In Kuwait, the index edged up 0.2 percent, rising for a ninth consecutive session to its highest closing level since June 3.
Sentiment was positive after liberals and candidates from some of the country’s more marginalised tribes won seats in Saturday’s parliamentary elections. Many Islamists and populists boycotted the polls, so investors are optimistic that the new parliament will adopt a cooperative approach to the cabinet, permitting progress on long-delayed economic development plans.
Dubai’s index slipped 0.5 percent, down for a second session in the last three from Tuesday’s near five-year peak.
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