By Mahmoud Gamal:
Doha-Mubasher: The Qatar Exchange (QE) extended its winning run to the second successive day, spurred by boosting positions on some stocks, in addition to select speculations on blue chips.
The benchmark index rose 0.50% or 60.18 points to close at 11980.66 points, while the all share index gained 0.51% to 3080.21 points.
The index returned to the area between 11800 and 12000 backed by select buying on leading stocks, which is a positive signal for investors, said Ahmed Aaql, capital market analyst.
The market rise was backed by five sectors that moved higher topped by insurance (+2.7%) afte Qatar Insurance gained 4.3%.
The industrial sector also rallied 0.68% backed by Aamal (+3%) and Qatar Electricity (+1.8%).
The banks sector gained 0.63% powered by Al Ahli Bank (+2.6%), Al Khalij (+1.8%) and Rayan (+1.6%).
Meanwhile, three sectors bucked the market trend; namely services (-0.46%) that was driven lower by Qatar Fuel (-0.7%). The telecommunication sector also drifted 0.14% lower hurt by Ooredoo (-0.35%), while the real estate sector was down 0.10% due to a fall by 0.9% in Barwa.
According to the analyst, speculators shifted between stocks to focus on those with low prices. Furthermore, the strong buying on some leading stocks like QNB and Industries Qatar was the main driver that pushed the index higher to test the 12000 level.
Gulf International rose 1.6%, QNB (+0.5%) and Industries Qatar (+0.07%).
Market capitalization gained QAR 3 billion to reach QAR 653.11 billion.
Turnover rose to QAR 504.42 million, compared with QAR 378.62 million, while traded volume increased to nearly 11.76 million shares form 8.02 million shares.
Aaql indicated that the market requires strong liquidity to continue the winning run, noting that corporate dividends would continue to define the market trend.
QNB was the top active with turnover exceeding QAR 84.7 million, while Ezdan was the most active with traded volume reaching 3.56 million shares.
Translated by Sayed Abdulrahman
Photo Credit: Arabianeye-Reuters
