Doha: The Qatar Exchange bourse yesterday closed in the green area, adding 70.60 points, or 0.62 percent, to 11,401.65 points from a day before’s closing of 11,331.05 points.
The volume of the shares traded fell to 14,644,221 from 17,654,772 and the value of shares decreased to QR689,574,299.79 from QR726,151,874.64 on Sunday.
Qatar’s index was up largely on the back of a single stock, industrial services provider Gulf International Services, which jumped 9.9 percent on average trading volume. Last week, its annual meeting approved a 20 percent cash dividend and a 25 percent bonus share issue.
Among the other top gainers were Qatar Insurance, which was up 2.09 percent to QR63.50, Qatar Islamic Bank gained 1.65 percent to QR73.90, Barwa Real Estate added 0.56 percent to QR35.95 and Vodafone Qatar was up by 0.99 percent to close at QR12.22.
The banking and financial sector index lost 0.07 percent, while consumer goods and services sector index rose 20.75 percent. The industrial sector added 1.57 percent, while insurance sector was up 1.77 percent.
Elsewhere in the region, property and banking shares lifted stock markets in the United Arab Emirates after Dubai obtained a roll-over of $20bn of debt. Other markets in the region were mixed as uncertainty over the Ukraine crisis continued to prompt profit-taking by some retail investors.
Abu Dhabi and the central bank of the United Arab Emirates said on Sunday that they had agreed to extend for five years $20bn of loans which were provided to the Dubai government as emergency aid during its financial crisis, and were due to mature this year in two tranches.
The roll-over had been widely expected, but it was still good news for Dubai, and Abu Dhabi’s decision to deal with both tranches at once — rather than waiting until each one matured — appeared to suggest a determination to clear obstacles to growth in the UAE.
Dubai’s main stock index climbed 1.6 percent but total trading turnover was only slightly higher than Sunday’s moderate level. Meanwhile, shares in Dubai’s Emaar Properties added 1.7 percent to Dh9.25, testing chart resistance at Dh9.16-9.20 — the February and March highs — for a second day after the company announced a higher 2013 dividend and a plan to list its shopping mall unit. “On the monthly chart the stock is now seen heading higher to Dh12 and Dh15 in the coming months,” said Shiv Prakash, senior technical analyst at NBAD Securities.
Other property-related names in Dubai posted even stronger gains. Builder Arabtec Holding jumped 6.4 percent and contractor Drake & Scull added 3.9 percent. Banks also lifted the bourse in Abu Dhabi, which jumped 1.9 percent. First Gulf Bank added 4.4 percent, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank rose 3.1 percent and Union National Bank gained 4.9 percent.
In Kuwait, Noor Financial Investment Co dropped 4.8 percent after saying the proposed sale of its stake in Karachi-based Meezan Bank had been blocked by Pakistan’s central bank. The index declined 0.3 percent to 7,409 points.
Egypt’s bourse added 0.4 percent to 8,161 points, rebounding from Sunday’s dip, but remained range-bound between the 8,100- and 8,250-point levels.
The Saudi Arabia index slipped 0.1 percent to 9,368 points.
QNA & Reuters
