About 60% of the stocks witnessed gains but Qatar Stock Exchange fell marginally on Tuesday.
Selling pressure of local and Gulf retail investors largely led the 20-stock Qatar Index shed 2 points to 10,918.53 amid higher trading turnover and volumes.
However, foreign and Gulf institutions were increasingly bullish in the market, which is up 4.69% year-to-date.
Profit booking was seen at the banking, insurance, transport and telecom counters in the bourse, where banking, industrial and realty stocks constituted about 72% of the total trading volume.
Market capitalisation was however up 0.25% or more than QR1bn to QR586.49bn as mid, micro and small cap equities gained 1.62%, 0.61% and 0.16% respectively, while large caps fell 0.18%.
The Total Return Index was down 0.02% to 17,665.46 points, while Al Rayan Islamic Index gained 0.33% to 4,200.75 points and All Share Index by 0.24% to 3,015.16 points.
Banks and financial services stocks fell 0.34%, insurance (0.19%) and telecom and transport (0.01% each); whereas industrials soared 1.18%, real estate (0.72%) and consumer goods (0.1%).
Major losers included Qatar Islamic Bank, QNB, Masraf Al Rayan, Vodafone Qatar and Milaha; even as Commercial Bank, Doha Bank, al khaliji, Industries Qatar, Qatari Investors Group, Qatar Electricity and Water, Mesaieed Petrochemical Holding, United Development Company, Barwa and Gulf Warehousing bucked the trend.
Local retail investors’ net buying rose substantially to QR77.6mn compared to QR8.36mn on August 8.
The GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) retail investors’ net selling increased to QR24.17mn against QR7.75mn on Monday.
Non-Qatari individual investors’ net profit booking rose to QR11.6mn compared to QR11.47mn the previous day.
However, non-Qatari institutions’ net buying strengthened to QR101.43mn against QR71.9mn on August 8.
The GCC institutions’ net buying increased perceptibly to QR58.81mn compared to QR10.91mn on Monday.
Domestic institutions’ net profit booking weakened to QR46.86mn against QR55.24mn the previous day.
Total trade volume rose 16% to 13.53mn shares, value by 11% to QR565.99mn and deals by 20% to 6,472.
The banks and financial services sector saw 83% surge in trade volume to 5.08mn equities, 23% in value to QR203.28mn and 16% in deals to 2,203.
The consumer goods sector’s trade volume soared 80% to 0.72mn stocks and value more than doubled to QR46.69mn on 71% jump in transactions deals to 589.
There was 54% expansion in the transport sector’s trade volume to 1.03mn shares, 59% in value to QR39.17mn and 38% in transactions to 431.
The industrials sector’s trade volume grew 20% to 2.49mn equities, value by 1% to QR153.72mn and deals by 44% to 1,342.
However, the market witnessed 33% plunge in the telecom sector’s trade volume to 1.98mn stocks and 11% in value to QR66.88mn but on 6% rise in transactions to 894.
The real estate sector’s trade volume plummeted 21% to 2.11mn shares, value by 21% to QR48.79mn and deals by 3% to 897.
The insurance sector reported 8% decline in trade volume to 0.11mn equities, 4% in value to QR7.47mn and 22% in transactions to 116.
In the debt market, there was no trading of treasury bills and government bonds.