Severe selling pressure at the banking, insurance and realty counters led the 20-stock Qatar Index to plummet 2.87%, or 325 points, to 10,989.79 points.
Large and midcap equities witnessed larger run-off in the market, were trading turnover and volumes were on the higher side.
Islamic stocks were seen declining slower than the conventional ones in the market, which is however up 5.37% year-to-date.
However, local, non-Qatari and Gulf individual investors turned bullish and there was a marginal increase in foreign institutions’ net buying in the bourse, where banking, real estate and industrials stocks together constituted about 76% of the total trading volume.
Market capitalisation plummeted 2.7% to QR588.58bn as large, mid, small and microcap cap stocks fell 2.96%, 2.04%, 1.06% and 0.35% respectively.
The Total Return Index shed 2.87% to 17,780.75 points, the All Share Index by 2.6% to 3,022.86 points and the Al Rayan Islamic Index by 2.15% to 4,163.7 points.
Insurance scrips plunged 3.74%, followed by banks and financial services (3.1%), realty (2.8%), industrials (2.48%), transport (1.31%), telecom (0.73%) and consumer goods (0.34%).
More than 81% of the stocks were in the red with major losers being Qatar Insurance, Industries Qatar, QNB, Commercial Bank, Qatar Islamic Bank, Qatar Electricity and Water, Ezdan, Barwa, United Development Company, Vodafone Qatar and Milaha.
Domestic institutions’ net selling increased substantially to QR146.24mn compared to QR79.66mn the previous day.
GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) institutions’ net selling strengthened to QR21.6mn against QR0.34mn on Tuesday.
However, local retail investors turned net buyers to the tune of QR25.69mn compared with net sellers of QR42.87mn on August 30.
Non-Qatari individual investors were also net buyers to the extent of QR10.4mn against net sellers of QR4.6mn the previous day.
GCC individual investors turned net buyers to the tune of QR2.71mn compared with net sellers of QR1.03mn on Tuesday.
Non-Qatari institutions’ net buying strengthened marginally to QR129.09mn against QR127.7mn on August 30.
Total trade volume rose 42% to 10.06mn shares, value by 70% to QR530.8mn and deals by 20% to 5,685.
The real estate sector’s trade volume almost tripled to 2.41mn equities and value also almost tripled to QR52.21mn on a 42% jump in transactions to 732.
There was a 98% surge in the transport sector’s trade volume to 0.85mn stocks and 53% in value to QR25.39mn but on a 10% fall in deals to 313.
The banks and financial services sector’s trade volume soared 50% to 3.74mn shares, value by 75% to QR242.52mn and transactions by 21% to 2,013.
The market witnessed a 32% expansion in the industrials sector’s trade volume to 1.47mn equities but value more than doubled to QR117.56mn; while deals grew 37% to 1,429.
However, the consumer goods sector saw a 50% plunge in trade volume to 0.21mn stocks, 21% in value to QR12.43mn and 16% in transactions to 232.
The telecom sector’s trade volume plummeted 23% to 1.22mn shares, while value shot up 25% to QR66.27mn and deals by 2% to 758.
The insurance sector reported a 23% decline in trade volume to 0.17mn equities and 26% in value to QR14.42mn but on a 25% expansion in transactions to 208.
In the debt market, there was no trading of treasury bills and government bonds.