By Santhosh V. Perumal/Business Reporter

An expected US interest rate hike in December continued to hit the Qatar Stock Exchange for the second day and its key index sunk below the 11,200 mark.

Substantially weakened buying interests of domestic institutions and bearish outlook of Gulf and non-Qatari retail investors as well as Gulf institutions led the 20-stock Qatar Index shed 0.47% to 11,168.76 points amid higher overall trade volumes.

However, local retail investors as well as foreign institutions turned bullish in the market, which is down 9.09% year-to-date.

Selling pressure was seen intense especially in the insurance, real estate and industrials counters in the bourse, where trading was largely skewed towards the real estate, banking and industrials sectors, which together constituted about 74% of the volume.

Market capitalisation fell 0.46% or about QR3bn to QR587.29bn with micro, mid, large and small cap equities losing 0.94%, 0.54%, 0.29% and 0.23% respectively.

The Total Return Index shrank 0.47% to 17,360.23 points, All Share Index by 0.5% to 2,975.55 points and Al Rayan Islamic Index by 0.49% to 4,216.53 points.

Insurance stocks plummeted 2.09%, realty (0.95%), industrials (0.72%), banks and financial services (0.21%) and consumer goods (0.18%); whereas transport and telecom gained 0.65% and 0.01% respectively.

More than 69% of the traded stocks were in the red with major losers being Industries Qatar, Mesaieed Petrochemical Holding, Barwa, Ezdan, Mazaya Qatar, United Development Company, Qatar Insurance, Doha Insurance, Qatar Islamic Bank, Commercial Bank, QIIB and Alijarah Holding; even as Islamic Holding Group, Nakilat, Qatari German Company for Medical Devices and Vodafone Qatar bucked the trend.

Domestic institutions’ net buying substantially weakened to QR3.22mn compared to QR32.98mn on Sunday.

The GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) institutions turned net sellers to the tune of QR1.94mn against net buyers of QR2.26mn on November 8.

The GCC individual investors were also net sellers to the extent of QR22.01mn compared with net buyers of QR7.22mn the previous day.

Non-Qatari individual investors turned net profit takers to the tune of QR2.38mn against net buyers of QR3.92mn on Sunday.

However, non-Qatari institutions turned net buyers to the tune of QR6.74mn compared with net sellers of QR34.14mn on November 8.

Local retail investors were also net buyers to the extent of QR16.37mn against net profit takers of QR12.23mn the previous day.

Total trade volume rose 9% to 5.71mn shares, while value fell 1% to QR239.99mn. Deals were up 4% to 3,330.

The telecom sector saw 74% expansion in trade volume to 0.61mn equities, 61% in value to QR11.57mn and 22% in transactions to 347.

The consumer goods sector’s trade volume soared 26% to 0.43mn stocks, value by 6% to QR15.06mn and deals by 5% to 262.

The market witnessed 9% increase in the industrials sector’s trade volume to 1.24mn shares but on 6% fall in value to QR82.59mn and 16% in transactions to 922.

The transport sector’s trade volume gained 5% to 0.43mn equities, value by 12% to QR14.25mn and deals by 7% to 256.

There was a 3% jump in the real estate sector’s trade volume to 1.7mn stocks, 36% in value to QR45.97mn and 29% in transactions to 631.

However, the insurance sector’s trade volume plummeted 40% to 0.03mn shares, value by 44% to QR1.94mn and deals by 14% to 38.

The banks and financial services sector reported 2% decline in trade volume to 1.26mn equities and 18% in value to QR68.59mn but on 10% increase in transactions to 874.

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