Doha: Qatar Exchange kept its upswing trend yesterday, adding 38.14 points (0.44 percent) to advance to 8,727.83 points from 8,689.69 on the previous day.
The volume of the shares traded up to 4,249,104 from 4,158,320 on Tuesday and the value of shares decreased to QR192,100,244.03 from QR249,792,704.52.
Among the top gainers were Commercialbank which was up 0.26 percent to QR77.20 and Rayan which rose 0.59 percent to QR25.60. Barwa Real Estate gained 0.54 percent to QR27.80 while Doha Bank was up by 0.54 percent to QR27.20.
The banking and financial sector index rose 0.50 points while consumer goods and services sector index lost 0.48 points. The industrial sector gained 0.34 points and the insurance sector rose 0.47 points.
Meanwhile, Egypt’s bourse recovered yesterday from a four-week low as bargain hunters shrugged off political unrest, while Gulf markets were mixed.
Cairo’s main index rose 1.5 percent, halting two sessions of sharp declines after the government declared a state of emergency in three cities on the Suez Canal.
“The market rebound today is a correction after a sharp decline yesterday, but we expect the bourse will break 5,500 again to target 5,300 next week,” said Ahmed Sharaby, Cairo-based technical analyst at Mawarid Egypt.
Heavyweight Orascom Construction Industries and Telecom Egypt each climbed 0.8 percent. Orascom Telecom gained 2.8 percent.
Elsewhere, petrochemical stocks helped lift Saudi Arabia’s index as better-than-forecast European data spurred optimism for the global economy and drove oil prices higher.
Brent crude reached its highest level in three and a half months yeserday, passing $115 a barrel.
Heavyweight Saudi Basic Industries added 0.5 percent, National Industrialisation (TASNEE) climbed 0.4 percent and Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical gained 1.2 percent.
Saudi petrochemical stocks tend to track oil prices, with crude impacting their bottom line. Oil is also seen as a proxy for global economic activity and therefore demand for petrochemical products.
The kingdom’s index gained 0.2 percent, its third gain in the last five sessions.
In the United Arab Emirates, Dubai’s Emaar Properties hit a 39-month high as investors bet the developer will announce market-pleasing earnings and dividends for 2012.
Emaar climbed 1.5 percent to Dh4.88, its highest close since October 2009. The intra-day peak of that month — Dh5.01 — is a major resistance level for the stock. “Foreign flows continue... the market is predominantly led by Emaar — we will need to see earnings to see if the rally is justified,” said Anastasios Dalgiannakis, institutional trading manager at Mubasher.
Agencies
