By Santhosh V. Perumal/Business Reporter

Retail investors’ buying interests were to a great extend contained by institutional investors’ profit booking that the Qatar Stock Exchange treaded a flat path and its key index remained sub 12,200 mark.

Although real estate, industrials and banking counters witnessed buying demand, the 20-stock Qatar Index (based on price data) was up mere 0.08% to 12,139.42 points on higher trade volumes.

The index that tracks Shariah-principled stocks was seen losing steam when the other indices made gains in the bourse, which is, however, down 1.19% year-to-date.

Insurance, consumer goods, transport and telecom stocks were at the receiving end in the market, where banks, real estate and industrials stocks together cornered about 77% of the total trading volume.

Market capitalisation rose 0.18% or more than QR1bn to QR660.51bn.

The Total Return Index gained 0.3% to 18,564.63 points and All Share Index by 0.26% to 3,206.91 points while Al Rayan Islamic Index was down by 0.05% to 4,373.9 points.

Realty stocks appreciated 0.78%, industrials (0.49%) and banks and financials services (0.31%); whereas insurance sunk 0.9%, consumer goods (0.38%), transport (0.35%) and telecom (0.27%).

Major gainers included Ezdan, United Development Company, Mannai Corporation, Mesaieed Petrochemical Holding, QNB and Commercial Bank; even as Doha Bank, Al Khaleej Takaful, Vodafone Qatar and Ooredoo bucked the trend.

Qatari retail investors’ net buying rose to QR26.54mn against QR5.57mn the previous day.

Non-Qatari individual investors’ net buying also strengthened to QR6.9mn compared to QR5.71mn on Wednesday.

However, domestic institutions turned net sellers to the tune of QR17.16mn against net buyers of QR6.95mn on March 4.

Foreign institutions’ net profit booking fell to QR16.25mn compared to QR18.2mn the previous day.

Total trade volume rose 21% to 6.25mn shares, value by 22% to QR336.41mn and transactions by 4% to 3,918.

The banks and financial services sector reported 87% surge in trade volume to 2.08mn stocks, 88% in value to QR148.66mn and 39% in deals to 1,469.

The industrials sector saw its trade volume soar 38% to 1.12mn equities, value by 58% to QR94.8mn and transactions by 5% to 1,015.

There was 19% expansion in the real estate’s trade volume to 1.6mn shares and less than 1% in value to QR40.8mn but on 15% fall in deals to 560.

The consumer goods sector’s trade volume shot up 13% to 0.35mn stocks, while value shrank 10% to QR17.93mn and transactions by 1% to 322.

However, the insurance sector’s trade volume plummeted 56% to 0.23mn equities, value by 54% to QR13.16mn and deals by 45% to 130.

There was 32% plunge in the transport sector’s trade volume to 0.3mn shares, 76% in value to QR7.8mn and 29% in transactions to 151.

The telecom sector’s trade volume was down 8% to 0.58mn stocks, value by 8% to QR13.26mn and deals by 8% to 271.

In the debt market, there was no trading of treasury bills and government bonds.