Doha: Qatar Exchange index yesterday added 3.60 points or 0.04 percent to advance to 8,380.92 points from 8,377.32 on Sunday.
The volume of the shares traded fell to 2,587,130 from 3,287,577 on Sunday and the value of shares decreased to QR127,899,640.31 from QR144,281,763.38 on Sunday.
Among the top gainers were Qatar Insurance which was up 2.73 percent to QR67.80, Doha Bank rose 0.39 percent to QR51.30, Al khalij Commercial Bank gained 0.53 percent to QR16.99 and Qatar Navigation up by 2.11 percent to QR63.00.
The banking and financial sector index added 0.17 points while consumer goods and services sector index gained 5.87 points. The industrial sector dropped 3.59 points while insurance sector up 35.12 points.
Gainers outnumbered losers nine to seven. Qatar Navigation climbed 2.1 percent.
“It’s all politics and Middle East conflict - the Gaza attack is scaring everyone,” said Yassir Mckee, head of brokerage at Doha’s Al Rayan Financial Brokerage.
“Qatar should stay in range - it needs some good news to take it higher. Locals are not as scared as much as the foreigners when there is tension in the region.”
“If volumes in Qatar don’t increase in the medium-term, it’s going to be difficult for people to accumulate,” said Musa Haddad, head of investment advisory services at National Bank of Abu Dhabi. “It will not get much attention from international investors because the dividend yield growth is getting flat.”
Meanwhile, a sharp sell-off dragged Saudi Arabia’s index to a five-week low yesterday and most other Middle East markets also fell as Israel-Palestine clashes extended into a sixth day.
The kingdom’s market dropped 1.9 percent to its lowest close since October 14.
Israel bombed dozens of suspected militant sites in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip yesterday and Palestinians kept up their cross-border rocket fire as international pressure for a truce intensified.
“People are getting worried the rising tension in Gaza can be the start of something worse,” said Abdullah Alawi, assistant general manager and head of research at Al Jazira Capital research, adding worries over the world economy were also weighing on Saudi investor sentiment.
Saudi large-caps lost ground, with Saudi Basic Industries Corp (Sabic), the world’s largest chemicals producer, and Al Rajhi Bank each dropping 1.4 percent and Samba Financial Group lost 2.4 percent.
Analyst say weak third-quarter earnings from petrochemical and banking stocks — the two largest sectors by market value — have made investors wary.
“Bluechip companies have shown weakness in the last quarter and most analysts agree that next year will witness slower growth in petchems, banks and telecoms,” Alawi added. “The main sectors of the economy are maturing, which in return lowers the expectations of exceptional growth.”
Elsewhere, Dubai’s bluechips dragged the emirate’s index to a seven-week closing low.
Agencies
