By Santhosh V. Perumal
Business Reporter

Qatar Stock Exchange on Wednesday gained a robust 117 points to inch near the 12,400 levels mainly on substantial buying interests from foreign and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) institutions.
Stronger buying in real estate and insurance led the 20-stock Qatar Index surge 0.95% to 12,366.92 despite losers outnumbering gainers.
Severe selling pressure from local retail and institutions notwithstanding, the bourse reported 0.29% year-to-date.
Trading, which almost tripled, was largely skewed towards realty and banking stocks, which together accounted for more about 82% of the overall volume.
Market capitalisation rose 0.4% or about QR3bn to QR661.49bn mainly on 1.27% gains in the mid cap stocks; even as small and large caps fell 0.54% and 0.24% respectively.
The Total Return Index gained 0.95% to 19,218.83 points, All Share Index by 0.74% to 3,301.34 points and Al Rayan Islamic Index by 0.66% to 4,718.25 points.
Real estate stocks appreciated 4.68%, insurance (3.96%) and consumer goods (0.63%); while telecom shrank 0.51%, banks and financial services (0.46%), industrials (0.1%) and transport (0.03%).
Major gainers included Ezdan, Qatar Insurance, Barwa, Aamal Company, Woqod, Doha Bank, Commercial Bank, Qatar Islamic Bank, Nakilat, Qatar Electricity and Water and Mannai Corporation.
However, QNB, Industries Qatar, Mazaya Qatar, Alijarah Holding, Vodafone Qatar, Ooredoo and Gulf Warehousing were seen bucking the trend.
Non-Qatari institutions’ net buying considerably strengthened to QR150.25mn against QR14.66mn on Tuesday.
The GCC institutions turned net buyers to the tune of QR55.62mn compared with net sellers of QR4.34mn on May 12.
Non-Qatari individual investors’ net selling weakened to QR3.18mn against QR8.77mn the previous day.
However, local retail investors’ net profit booking shot up to QR124.32mn compared to QR2.52mn on Tuesday.
Domestic institutions turned net sellers to the extent of QR74.55mn against net buyers of QR1.47mn on May 12.
The GCC individual investors’ net selling increased to QR3.83mn compared to QR0.5mn the previous day.
Total trade volume almost tripled to 21.4mn shares and value more than doubled to QR722.35mn on 95% jump in transactions to 7,632.
The real estate sector’s trade volume witnessed a more than 11-fold jump to 14.38mn equities and value by more than eight-fold to QR328.1mn on about five-fold rise in deals to 2,929.
The insurance sector’s trade volume grew more than six-fold to 0.97mn stocks and value by about nine-fold to QR81.05mn on more than five-fold jump in transactions to 423.
The industrials sector’s trade volume more than doubled to 1.33mn shares and value surged 94% to QR89.66mn and deals by 70% to 1,328.
The telecom sector’s trade volume more than doubled to 0.69mn equities and value soared 71% to QR12.98mn and transactions by 8% to 249.
However, the market witnessed 52% plunge in the transport sector’s trade volume to 0.1mn stocks, 43% in value to QR6.1mn and 3% in deals to 144.
The consumer goods sector’s trade volume tanked 23% to 0.76mn shares, value by 37% to QR28.22mn and transactions by 24% to 451.
The banks and financial services sector saw its trade volume decline 8% to 3.16mn equities but value expanded 31% to QR176.24mn and deals by 43% to 2,108.
In the debt market, there was no trading of treasury bills and government bonds.