By Santhosh V Perumal
Business Reporter

The Qatar Stock Exchange on Thursday lost another 0.31% and its key index retreated below the 11,800 mark with six of the seven sectors witnessing profit-booking pressures.
Selling was seen intense at the telecom, consumer goods, insurance, transport and industrials counters as the 20-stock Qatar Index fell for the third day by 0.31% to 11,785.22 points with overall trade volumes on the decline.
The index that tracks Shariah-principled stocks was seen melting the most in the market, which is down 4.07% year-to-date.
Local and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) retail investors turned bearish and buying interests of domestic and non-Qatari individual investors were seen weakening in the bourse, where trading was largely skewed towards the banking and real estate sectors, whose stocks together constituted more than 54% of the overall trading volume.
Market capitalisation was down 0.25%, or more than QR1bn, to QR626.44bn with micro, small, mid and large-cap equities losing 1.01%, 0.81%, 0.46% and 0.08% respectively.
The Total Return Index shed 0.31% to 18,318.43 points, the All Share Index by 0.31% to 3,158.21 points and the Al Rayan Islamic Index by 0.63% to 4,612.87 points.
Telecom stocks shrank 1.99%, followed by consumer goods (1.41%), insurance (1.15%), transport (0.68%), industrials (0.45%) and realty (0.21%); whereas banks and financial services gained 0.26%.
More than 68% of the stocks were in the red with major losers being Ooredoo, Vodafone Qatar, Gulf International Services, Aamal Company, Qatar Insurance, Mazaya Qatar, Barwa, Gulf Warehousing, Nakilat, Commercial Bank, Alijarah Holding, Islamic Holding Group and Salam International Investment; even as QNB, Industries Qatar and Qatar Islamic Bank bucked the trend.
Local retail investors turned net sellers to the tune of QR6.96mn against net buyers of QR4.9mn on July 29.
GCC individual investors were also net sellers to the extent of QR2mn compared with net buyers of QR0.17mn on Wednesday.
Domestic institutions’ net buying notably weakened to QR0.45mn against QR17.2mn the previous day.
Non-Qatari individual investors’ net buying also declined to QR6.21mn compared to QR7.98mn on July 29.
However, GCC institutions’ net buying strengthened to QR3.29mn against QR2.17mn on Wednesday.
Non-Qatari institutions’ net profit-booking substantially plunged to QR0.95mn compared to QR32.41mn the previous day.
Total trade volume fell 14% to 4.43mn shares, value by 9% to QR193.81mn and deals by 51% to 3,596.
The consumer goods sector saw a 71% plunge in trade volume to 0.19mn equities, 67% in value to QR10.51mn and 83% in transactions to 289.
The insurance sector’s trade volume plummeted 40% to 0.09mn stocks, while value rose 14% to QR8.47mn. Deals fell 83% to 112.
The real estate sector saw a 30% decline in trade volume to 1.1mn shares, 21% in value to QR31.58mn and 51% in transactions to 611.
The banks and financial services sector’s trade volume tanked 28% to 1.31mn equities, value by 19% to QR68.55mn and deals by 47% to 1,015.
However, the telecom sector’s trade volume more than tripled to QR0.86mn stocks and value also more than tripled to QR18.88mn on more-than-doubled transactions to 383.
The market witnessed a 33% surge in the transport sector’s trade volume to 0.16mn shares and 14% in value to QR5.93mn but on a 42% shrinkage in deals to 155.
The industrials sector’s trade volume expanded 20% to 0.71mn equities and value by 30% to QR49.9mn but on a 27% fall in transactions to 1,031.
In the debt market, there was no trading of treasury bills and government bonds.