Qatar Exchange’s (QE) benchmark index continued its rise for the fourth successive session amid increasing of positions on leading banking stocks and several small stocks by speculators. The index surged by 0.68% or 93.6 pts to 1377.19 pts compared to yesterday’s closing of 13682.57 pts.

Turnover rose to QAR 925.49 million against QAR 867.7 million, whereas trade volume declined to 20.35 million shares against 21.7 million.

Mohammed Al Shemimry, Arab markets financial consultant, told Mubasher that the main reason behind today’s surge was the increasing of positions on leading banking stocks particularly Al Rayan Bank, Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) and Qatar International Islamic Bank.

The Qatari index will continue to rise amid this positive atmosphere, Al Shemimry said, noting that passing the level of 13700 pts is an indicator of the strong confidence portfolio managers have in the local market.

On the market level, the banks, transport, services and industrial sectors drove the market up today, as the banking sector surged by 0.9%, as QIB and Qatar International Islamic Bank soared by 5.9% and 2.8%, respectively, followed by Al Rayan and Al Khalij Commercial Bank, which added 1.06% and 0.8%, respectively.

The transport sector added 0.52% as Milaha gained 1.4%, followed by the services sector which rose by 0.34% as Salam International Investment, Qatar for Cinema and Film Distribution Co., and Medicare added 2.7%, 2.17% and 0.6%, respectively.

Moreover, the industrial sector added 0.32% as Industries Qatar (IQ) and The Investors climbed 1.4% and 0.68%, respectively.

Meanwhile, the insurance sector dropped by 0.60%, while the real estate sector inched down by 0.08%.

The Qatari index is expected to continue rising in the coming sessions targeting the level of 13800 pts and 14000 pts respectively, Al Shemimry concluded.