Doha/Dubai: Qatar Exchange index slipped 19.34 points or 0.23 percent yesterday to 8,429.01 points from the previous closing of 8,448.35 points.
The volume of shares traded up to 3,060,857 from 2,550,539 on Sunday, and the value of shares increased to QR118,875,638.82 from QR146,016,925.53 on Sunday.
Among the top losers were Qatar National Bank whose share dropped 0.30 percent to QR131.40, Industries Qatar lost 0.07 percent to QR151.70, Vodafone Qatar fell 0.69 percent to QR8.60 and Qatar Navigation down 2.09 percent to QR65.60.
The banking and financial sector dropped 3.15 points while the insurance sector added 7.20 points. The Qatar industrial sector down 11.28 points and the Services sector lost 26.12 points.
Meanwhile, Egypt’s measure yesterday recovered some of the previous session’s heavy losses as President Mohammed Mursi met with senior judges to defuse a crisis over newly-seized powers, while Gulf markets steadied in cautious tarding.
Cairo’s index rose 2.6 percent. On Sunday, it plunged 9.6 percent to a four-month low in the first trading session after Mursi’s decree that temporarily widened his powers and shielded his decisions from judicial review. The news sparked a political crisis and violent protests.
Egypt’s Justice Minister Ahmed Mekky said he believed that Mursi would agree with the country’s highest judicial authority on its proposal that would limit the scope of the presidential decree.
“The market has rebounded unexpectedly after a sharp decline but we are not expecting it to continue for a long time,” said Mohabeldeen Agena, head of technical analysis at Cairo’s Beltone Financial. “We are expecting the bears to attack again close to 5,100 levels.”
Trading volumes rose in large-cap stocks, which closed mixed. Palm Hills Development fell 3.2 percent and Al Saeed Contracting eased 0.9 percent, but Orascom Telecom jumped 6.7 percent.
After the market closed, the Egyptian Administrative court said it set a first hearing for December 4 in a case challenging Mursi’s decree granting him extra powers.
Traders said two major demonstrations are planned for today, one against the decree and one supporting Mursi, raising the possibility of violence. Arab investors were net buyers against Egyptian sellers, according to Egypt bourse data.
In Saudi Arabia, the index gained 0.4 percent, easing away from Sunday’s 10-month low after Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz gave assurances about the king’s health.
Saudi’s index had slumped in recent sessions as investors cut risk due to concerns over king’s health since he had a major back surgery.
But Saudi petrochemical stocks helped lift the bourse. The sector’s measure rose 0.9 percent, trimming its 2012 losses to 10.6 percent as buyers targeted sold-off stocks.
Saudi Basic Industries Corp (Sabic) climbed 0.9 percent, Saudi Arabian Fertilizers added 0.7 percent and Yanbu National Petrochemical gained 1 percent.
Elsewhere in the Gulf, UAE markets ended mixed in thin trade as an uncertain political climate in the Middle East spurred investors to tread cautiously.
Dubai’s index slipped 0.8 percent, trimming year-to-date gains to 17.4 percent. A total of 46 million shares traded, about a third of the 50-day moving daily average.
Real estate-related stocks fell, with Emaar Properties and builder Arabtec declining 0.8 and 2.2 percent respectively. Developer Deyaar slipped 1.5 percent.
These rallied on Sunday after the emirate’s ruler announced mega development retail and tourism projects.
Agencies
