The Qatari bourse witnessed a fall for a second consecutive day yesterday with its index dipping by a huge 6.18 percent, or 329.55 points, to 5,003.
Analysts are attributing the slide to what they see as an unstoppable selling spree. Some analysts suspect businesses facing liquidity-related difficulties may be liquidating assets to finance deficits.
“I am sure this kind of selling pressure cannot build over days on end without businesses, whether owned by individuals or business houses, needing liquidity to meet their financial commitments,” said a financial and stock analyst, asking not to be identified.
With the index of the Doha Securities market (DSM) falling continuously and touching a low of 5,000 points — from record highs of over 12,000 points barely eight months ago — the market capitalisation of the bourse also threatens to touch its nadir.
The capitalisation yesterday was QR207.26bn, marginally above the psychological barrier of QR200bn.
Some 34 of the 43 listed entities were down at the end of yesterday’s trading, with the Gulf Insurance Company reaching the cap of 10 percent by which stocks are permitted to go down (or up) on a trading day.
The industrial sector was the biggest loser (down 7.14 percent) with the high-volume and fundamentally formidable Industries Qatar (IQ) breaching the QR70 barrier after a long time to climb down to QR66.40, from QR71.30 on Sunday.
The scrip had peaked at a historic high of QR248 during the excited run-up to the partial opening up of the DSM to foreigners a few years ago. The other three counters met a similar fate, each going down substantially.
Trading volumes had, though, improved a bit to more than 5,500, but most transactions were, arguably, for offloading and not for buys.
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