Industrials and real estate stocks witnessed higher profit booking pressure to drive the Qatar Stock Exchange down 28 points; but overall it managed to stay above the 10,400 mark.

Foreign institutions’ net buying weakened and there was increased net selling by Gulf retail investors and institutions which led the 20-stock Qatar Index knock off 0.27% for the fourth straight session to 10,406.27 points. Thus the market was back in negative trajectory year-to-date with losses at 0.22%.

Large and midcap equities put up a lackadaisical performance on the bourse, where banking, industrials and telecom stocks together constituted more than 87% of the total volumes.

Trade turnover and volumes were on the increase on the market, where local retail investors were also increasingly net sellers.

However, domestic institutions’ net profit booking weakened and non-Qatari individual investors were net buyers on the bourse.

Market capitalisation shed 0.31% or about QR2bn to QR560.8bn as large and midcap equities fell 0.13% and 0.1%; while micro and small caps rose 0.58% and 0.01% respectively.

The Total Return Index fell 0.27% to 16,836.65 points, All Share Index by 0.21% to 2,872.44 points and Al Rayan Islamic Index by 0.23% to 3,869.06 points.

Industrials saw their equity prices decline 0.68%, real estate (0.28%), telecom (0.2%), banks and financial services (0.09%) and insurance (0.02%); whereas consumer goods and transport gained 0.29% and 0.03% respectively.

Major losers included Industries Qatar, QNB, Ezdan, Ooredoo, Vodafone Qatar, Gulf Warehousing, Commercial Bank, Doha Bank, Dlala, Gulf International Services and Mesaieed Petrochemical Holding.

Nevertheless, Qatar Islamic Bank, Aamal Company, Milaha, Qatar Electricity and Water, Mannai Corporation, United Development Company and Qatar Industrial Manufacturing saw their stocks lose sheen.

Non-Qatari institutions’ net buying weakened further to QR61.21mn compared to QR75.07mn on Sunday.

The GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) institutions’ net selling increased to QR9.17mn against QR3.43mn on October 23.

Local retail investors’ net selling strengthened to QR9.72mn compared to QR9.29mn the previous day.

The GCC individual investors’ net profit booking rose to QR3.47mn against QR1.27mn on Sunday.

However, domestic institutions’ net selling weakened perceptibly to QR41.04mn compared to QR60.32mn on October 23.

Non-Qatari individual investors turned net buyers to the tune of QR2.2mn against net sellers of QR0.77mn the previous day.

Total trade volume rose 25% to 6.4mn shares, value by 39% to QR241.25mn and deals by 54% to 2,490.

The insurance sector’s trade volume grew five-fold to 0.05mn equities and value by more than five-fold to QR3.56mn on more than quadrupled transactions to 106.

The consumer goods sector’s trade volume tripled to 0.09mn stocks and value more than doubled to QR6.72mn on more than doubled deals to 189.

The transport sector’s trade volume more than doubled to 0.18mn shares and value more than tripled to QR9.96mn on 85% jump in transactions to 191.

The real estate sector saw 39% surge in trade volume to 0.5mn equities and 37% in value to QR9.93mn but on 18% fall in deals to 185.

The banks and financial services sector’s trade volume soared 33% to 2.25mn stocks, value by 22% to QR78.65mn and transactions by 31% to 853.

There was 26% expansion in the industrials sector’s trade volume to 2.04mn shares, 43% in value to QR115.99mn and 84% in deals to 704.

However, the telecom sector’s trade volume was down 2% to 1.29mn equities; whereas value shot up 7% to QR16.44mn and transactions by 85% to 262.

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