Mubasher: The Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) closed the week ended 16 August down, hitting the lowest level since March.

The main index plunged 4.4%, or 438.98 points, to close the week at 9,447.88 points.

Market capitalisation went down 5.04% to QAR 519.46 billion over the week, from QAR 547.05 billion in the prior week.

Over the course of this week, the bourse’s liquidity dipped 32.2% to QAR 687.81 million from QAR 1.01 billion in the previous week, while the number of transactions tumbled 20.5% to 14,690 against 18,470.

The market’s trading volume fell 40.4% to 22.77 million shares this week versus 38.18 million last week.

The real estate sector topped the QSE’s decliners falling 10.7%, followed by the banking, insurance and telecommunication sectors, which recorded 5.6%, 3.8%, and 3.7%, respectively.

Similarly, the industrial sector went down 3.3%, followed by the goods and transportation sectors with 1.8% and 1.6%, respectively.

During the week, 39 stocks dropped, spearheaded by Ezdan Holding Group, which lost 15.4%, while 3 stocks increased topped by Widam Food Company’s 24.3% surge, while 3 sectors were stable.