Industrials drag QE index to one-month low

30/09/2015 07:55 AST

Qatari stock market hit the lowest level of the month yesterday as the market declined 158 points, or 1.39 percent, to finish at 11,275 on the penultimate trading session of the third quarter (Q3, 15). Industrial stocks led Qatari shares lower when market reopened after a long Eid Al Adha break.

Most major stocks ended in red; Industries Qatar (IQ) fell 2.5 percent and QNB decreased 1.3 percent. QIB, Al Rayan and Doha Bank declined 2.4 percent, 1.9 percent and 1.3 percent respectively. CBQ was 1.3 percent lower and Qatar Fuel ended 0.6 percent lower. Real Estate stocks closed negative; Barwa down 2.4 percent and Ezdan lower 1.1 percent. Qatar Insurance and Qatar Navigation went down 1 percent each. Ahli Bank increased 1 percent and Ooredoo gained 0.3 percent. Foreigners were the net sellers.

Brent crude was trading below $48 a barrel in Asia yesterday. Analysts told The Peninsula oil price pressures will continue to be the biggest upside risk for Qatari stock market.

““Price of oil is by far the most important factor to consider when investing in Qatar and the GCC. The correlation is not always direct, and the sensitivity to oil differs from one company to another. For instance, price of oil matters directly for sectors like chemicals and oil services, whose revenues are directly linked to oil”, Afa Boran (pictured), Head of Asset Management, Amwal told this paper last week.

Qatar National Bank came in first in terms of value as it made QR 26.69m, while Vodafone Qatar was the volume leader with trading volume reaching 802,600 shares.

Elsewhere, the Saudi stock index closed 1.4 percent lower.

Dubai index fell 0.8 percent to 3,554 points and Abu Dhabi slipped 0.9 percent to 4,476 points. Egypt fell 1.1 percent to 7,332 points, while Kuwait and Oman edged down 0.2 percent and 0.1 percent respectively. Bahrain slipped 0.2 percent to 1, 275 points.

The Peninsula