Doha: Qatar Exchange ended in the green yesterday adding 8.48 points (or 0.1 percent) to advance to 8,487.09 points from 8,478.61 on Thursday. Among the top gainers were Industries Qatar which was up 1.12 percent to QR144.10, Commercial Bank of Qatar rose 0.83 percent to QR72.60, Qatar Islamic Bank gained 0.26 percent to QR77.50 and Doha Bank was up by 0.18 percent to QR54.20.
The banking and financial sector index lost 3.99 points, the consumer goods and services sector index dropped 25.45 points, the industrial sector rose by 1.02 points while insurance sector was down 3.23 points.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s stock market declined for a second straight day as disappointment over third-quarter corporate earnings weighed. Having recorded its biggest one-day drop in over four months on Saturday, a slide of 1.8 percent, the Saudi bourse fell once more, by 0.3 percent.
Concerns which sent global bourses lower at the end of last week, including expectations for weak corporate earnings in the United States and Spain’s debt problems, are combining with weak results Saudi companies to hurt investor sentiment.
“Clearly, the concerns over global growth prospects are weighing on the market,” said Julian Bruce, EFG-Hermes’ director of institutional equity sales.
Yanbu National Petrochemical Co slumped 3.4 percent, the sixth successive daily fall and the largest one-day drop since June 2. Saudi Arabian Fertilizer Co fell 0.4 percent and Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co slipped 2.8 percent after reporting a dip in profits and a widening loss respectively.
Markets in the United Arab Emirates were also buffeted by external factors, with global cues and the previous day’s performance in Saudi dragging both exchanges lower. In Dubai, the measure slipped 0.7 percent, erasing all of the previous session’s advance, while the Abu Dhabi bourse snapped a four-session winning streak, declining 0.5 percent.
Egypt’s benchmark declined on the back of weekend clashes between supporters and opponents of Egyptian President Mohammed Mursi, ending the day down 0.3 percent.
Kuwait’s measure rebounded from the previous session’s two-week low with a 0.2 percent increase. In Oman, the measure extended its decline to a third session, ending the day down 0.1 percent, while Bahrain’s bourse climbed 0.4 percent.
HIGHLIGHTS
SAUDI ARABIA: The index fell 0.3 percent to 6,662 points.
DUBAI: The index slipped 0.7 percent to 1,625 points.
ABU DHABI: The index declined 0.5 percent to 2,642 points.
EGYPT: The measure dropped 0.3 percent to 5,723 points.
KUWAIT: The measure edged up 0.2 percent to 5,983 points.
BAHRAIN: The measure climbed 0.4 percent to 1,070 points.
Reuters
