The Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) index concluded this week’s trading down by 1.96 percent, losing 206.92 points to stand at 10,364, compared to last week’s trading, under the pressure of the real estate sector, which fell by 2.82 percent, transport sector by 2.21 percent, banking and financial sector by 2.07 percent, industrial sector by 1.8 percent, and services and consumer goods by 1.28 percent.
On the other hand, the index performance during the same period saw an increase in the shares of the insurance sector by 1.64 percent and the communications sector by 0.62 percent, respectively, amid an improvement in liquidity levels, as the value of trading increased during this week to reach QR 1.960 billion, compared to its level last week, which amounted to QR 1.911 billion riyals, an increase of about QR 50 million, while the average trading during the past week was around QR 392 million per session.
In remarks to Qatar News Agency , financial analyst Ramzi Qasimia attributed the decline in the QSE index in the last sessions of this week to the announcement of the semi-annual FTSE Russell index review, which included the entry and exit of some companies and the reclassification of others, in addition to pressure added by the performance of some sectors, especially real estate, banking, and industry.
He stressed the improvement in the performance of the QSE general index during the last two trading days, driven by the gains achieved by the shares of the newly listed company, Meeza, which surged 16 percent during two trading sessions since its listing on Wednesday, in addition to the investors’ anticipation of the revisions of the Morgan Stanley index during the next week. He pointed out that the QSE’s management made significant efforts to simplify procedures and revitalize the market during the past few days, especially in light of its recent announcement of the start of the Covered Short Selling activity, and the activity of securities lending and borrowing, which are complementary tools to the rest of the activities in the market, and of importance for investors to benefit from in their funds and investment portfolios.
Source: Qatar News Agency