The market capitalization of the Qatari bourse breached the magical barrier of QR400bn last week. The figure soared to QR401.59bn on Thursday from QR394.68bn the previous week as Qatari stocks surged in the week with the main index of Qatar Exchange gaining almost 100 points, or 1.36 percent, to 7,413.76. The surge in capitalization figures was led mainly by a 42 points gain by the QE index on Thursday. A highlight of the weekly trading was that the index and market capitalization figures rose despite the trading value, volumes as well as the number of transactions concluded on the bourse all fell. The services sector dominated trading as it led in terms of all the three main indicators—trading value, volumes and the number of transactions. Some 31 of the 44 listed stocks ended the week higher with only eight falling while five remained unchanged. Among the top gainers last week were Dlala Brokerage, Qatar Navigation and Gulf Insurance, while the major losers included Doha Insurance, Qatar Industrial Manufacturing Company and Qatar Cinema. Counters-wise, only the industrial stocks which include large cap and fundamentally formidable Industries Qatar (IQ), fell marginally (0.51 percent), whereas services, banking and insurance shares gained. The maximum rise was witnessed by the services sector at 4.25 percent followed by insurance (0.90 percent) and banking and financial services (0.89 percent). The Barwa Real Estate Company led as an individual stock in terms of the trading value last week accounting for 11.52 percent in the total, followed by IQ whose share in the total was 10.84 percent. The third spot was bagged by Qatar Gas Transport Company, popularly known as Nakilat. Its share in the total was 8.29 percent. http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=Local_News&subsection=Qatar+News&month=March2010&file=Local_News201003272345.xml

Follow us on our social media channels: @ILQlive @ILQlive @ILoveQtr ILoveQatar