Doha, Qatar: The Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) index concluded this week’s trading down by 1.53 percent, losing 164 points to stand at 10,571 under the pressure of the transport sector which fell by 1.77 percent, and banking and financial sector by 1.76 percent, while the insurance sector surged 4.09 percent and real estate sector increased by 0.030 percent.
In this context, financial analyst Ahmed Aqel attributed the decline in the QSE index during the past week to a collection of local and global factors. These factors include the markets exposure to profit-taking after it rose to levels of 11,400 points, in addition to the decrease in the profits of the industrial sector, specifically Industries Qatar, due to the decline in prices in response to oil prices decline by 4 percent over the past few days, to settle at levels of $84 per barrel, which put pressure on the index.
The factors also include the expectations that the US Federal Reserve will continue to proceed with monetary tightening policies and raise interest rates. The financial analyst added that the discussions showed that most of the members are concerned about the inflation battle, which may require additional tightening measures from the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC).
In remarks to Qatar News Agency (QNA), the financial analyst said that the QSE index made record levels during the past period, reaching 11,400 points, which enabled it to dispel the losses it had recorded since the beginning of this year, and as a result of profit-taking, it fell below 10,600 points to close at 10,571.63 points, representing a point of support for the index, and it is still far from the pressure levels that fluctuate between 10,200 and 10,400 points.
Aqel pointed out that the current period has good opportunities in the market with regard to building and assembling financial centers for portfolios and investors, and speculators can seize the opportunities available in the market during this period.
