Qatar Exchange index lost 23.19 points or 0.25 percent to hit 9,275.56 points from the previous closing of 9,298.75 points.
The volume of shares traded fell to 3,758,417 from 5,651,379 on Thursday, and the value of shares decreased to QR153,582,968.48 from QR334,520,696.06 on Thursday.
Among the top losers were Qatar National Bank whose share dropped 1.01 percent to QR157.40, Industries Qatar lost 0.57 percent to QR157.60, Barwa Real Estate fell 0.93 percent to QR26.55 and Gulf International down 1.32 percent to QR41.10.
The banking and financial sector lost 0.43 points while the insurance sector was down 0.56 points. The industrial sector added 0.05 points and the services sector gained 0.35 points.
Meanwhile, other bourses were mixed yesterday and for the month of June but bulls ran ahead in the second quarter, outperforming frontier peers and a poor performance on emerging markets, as attractive valuations and strong economic outlook spurred buying.
Egypt’s bourse however, rose to a near-three-week high yesterday in very thin trading but posted its third consecutive quarterly loss as bears dominated amid escalating political tensions.
Markets in the United Arab Emirates were the strongest gainers for the quarter as a partial recovery in property prices triggered positive sentiment among investors. Government spending plans and a buoyant tourist industry has added their weight to the healthy economic outlook.
Speculative buying also propelled the market ahead of the mid-June announcement by index compiler MSCI that it would upgrade the UAE and Qatar to emerging market status.
Dubai’s index, flat yesterday, rose 21.5 percent in the second quarter and Abu Dhabi’s benchmark added 0.3 percent to push its quarterly gain to 17.4 percent — its best performance since the third quarter of 2009.
“The markets have to correct during the summer and Ramadan but expect a comeback if the global scene is benign,” said Ali Adou, portfolio manager at The National Investor.
Strong tourism numbers in Dubai and a potential for the emirate to secure the right to host Expo 2020, along with heavy infrastructure investments in Abu Dhabi, underpin a bullish outlook for the UAE, he added.
In Saudi Arabia, the benchmark slipped 0.1 percent, but closed the quarter up 5.2 percent. Growth concerns for Saudi banks and petrochemical shares have kept the market from matching the rally experienced by other regional exchanges.
By comparison, Morgan Stanley’s emerging market index lost 9.1 percent in the second quarter and its frontier market index ticked up 0.7 percent.
In Kuwait, the index dropped 1.8 percent as investors adjusted their portfolios at the end of the quarter, said Fouad Darwish, head of brokerage at Global Investment House. However, the market still rose 15.6 percent in the second quarter, mainly driven by retail investor interest.
Elsewhere, foreign investors lifted Egypt’s bourse to a near-three-week high ahead of anti-government protests on Sunday but trading volumes were thin as many investors opted to stay out of the high-risk market.
The index climbed 1.4 percent to its highest finish since June 11 but recorded its worst monthly performance since November 2012.
Source:
Qatar Chronicle
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