Qatar Stock Exchange was back in negative terrain on Wednesday, albeit at lower levels, despite movers outnumbering gainers.

Selling pressure, especially in telecom, insurance and realty, rather drove the 20-stock Qatar Index down by a marginal 0.25% or 16 points to 10,372.2 points, notwithstanding the assurance from Qatar government on support to the private sector.

Reflecting the introduction of margin trading, trade turnover and volumes were otherwise on the upswing in the bourse, whose year-to-date losses were seen at 0.55%.

A strong net profit booking pressure among local retail investors was to a great extent contained by robust buying interests of domestic and foreign institutions in the market, where industrials, insurance and banking stocks together accounted for about three-fourth of the total volumes.

Although there was an overall bearish overhang, Islamic stocks were seen to gain vis-à-vis declines in the conventional ones in the bourse, where large cap equities were at the receiving end.

Market capitalisation was down 0.08% or QR43mn to QR557.1bn mainly on a 0.2% dip in large cap equities; even as micro, mid and small caps gained 0.78%, 0.52% and 0.06% respectively.

The Total Return Index fell 0.15% to 16,781.53 points and All Share Index by 0.06% to 2,864.24 points; whereas Al Rayan Islamic Index rose 0.12% to 3,909.87 points.

Telecom stocks shrank 0.53%, insurance (0.26%), real estate (0.2%), industrials (0.05%) and banks and financial services (0.04%); while consumer goods and telecom gained 0.47% and 0.22% respectively.

Major losers included Qatar Insurance, QNB, Industries Qatar, Ooredoo, Ezdan, Nakilat, Aamal Company, QIIB, Masraf Al Rayan and Dlala; even as Barwa, Mazaya Qatar, Vodafone Qatar, Gulf Warehousing, Mesaieed Petrochemical Holding, Gulf International Services, Commercial Bank, Doha Bank, Alijarah Holding and Gulf Warehousing saw their stocks gain.

Local retail investors turned net sellers to the tune of QR104.5mn compared with net buyers of QR6.38mn on October 4.

The GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) institutions’ net selling strengthened to QR12.1mn against mere QR0.04mn on Tuesday.

Non-Qatari individual investors’ net buying weakened to QR1.32mn compared to QR2.7mn the previous day.

However, domestic institutions turned net buyers to the extent of QR33.23mn against net sellers of QR39.28mn on October 4.

Non-Qatari institutions’ net buying strengthened perceptibly to QR82.2mn compared to QR31.86mn on Tuesday.

The GCC individual investors’ net profit booking weakened to QR0.14mn against QR1.6mn the previous day.

Total trade volume rose 35% to 5.37mn shares and value by 95% to QR286.7mn; while deals were down 8% to 2,404.

The insurance sector registered a more than 20-fold jump in trade volume to 1.17mn equities and 32-fold in value to QR102.9mn on more than doubled transactions to 191.

The industrials sector’s trade volume soared 79% to 1.91mn stocks to more than double value to QR106.6mn on 15% jump in deals to 557.

The market witnessed 56% surge in the transport sector’s trade volume to 0.25mn shares but on 14% decline in value to QR7.35mn. Transactions gained 25% to 223.

The consumer goods sector’s trade volume expanded 35% to 0.23mn equities and value by 71% to QR10.01mn; whereas deals shrank 30% to 142.

However, the telecom sector reported 67% plunge in trade volume to 0.17mn stocks, 54% in value to QR7.39mn and 44% in transactions to 183.

The real estate sector’s trade volume tanked 19% to 0.72mn shares, value by 13% to QR15.09mn and deals by 25% to 299.

The banks and financial services sector saw 18% shrinkage in trade volume to 0.93mn equities, 14% in value to QR37.35mn and 13% in transactions to 809.

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