07/12/2010 00:00 AST
The MSM30 Index increased 0.50 per cent to close at 6,697 points. The advance to decline ratio at the end of the trading session stood at 1.75:1.
The total shares exchanged decreased by 16.93 per cent to 10.164 million shares and the total value traded decreased by 9.33 per cent to RO4.506 million. The market breadth was positive with 21 gainers and 12 losers out of 50 traded securities.
Amongst the sectors, Services & Insurance sector gained 0.57 per cent to close at 2,648 points followed by Industrial sector which gained 0.53 per cent to close at 7,299 points.
Banking & Investment sector gained 0.38 per cent to close at 8,626 points.
The top two gainers were Jazeera Steel Product (3.37%) and Al Hassan Eng. (1.84%) to close at RO0.307 and RO0.499. The top two losers were Ahli Bank Bonds (-2.15%) and Oman Hol. Int. (-1.68%) to close at RO1.000 and RO0.292.
The top two by volume traded were Jazeera Steel Product (1.319 million shares) and BankMuscat (1.247 million shares). The top two by value traded were BankMuscat (RO1.193 million) and Jazeera Steel Product (RO0.405 million).
Qatar shares surge
Qatar’s shares rose to the highest in two years after the country won rights to host soccer’s 2022 World Cup, becoming the first Arab nation to hold the world’s most-watched sporting event.
Qatar National Bank, the emirate’s biggest lender by assets, climbed to the highest in more than five years. Barwa Real Estate, Qatar’s largest publicly traded property developer by assets, gained 6.2 per cent. The QE Index advanced 3.6 per cent to 8,477.32 at the 12:30pm close in Doha, the highest since October 2008. The Bloomberg GCC 200 Index increased 0.7 per cent and Egypt’s EGX 30 Index rose 1.1 per cent.
“Sentiment is understandably flying extremely high,” said Akber Khan, a director at Al Rayan Investment in Doha.
“There will be a material impact on some companies as the government fast-tracks billions of dollars of spending. Banks, real estate and construction-related names would be among the key beneficiaries,” he further added.
Bahrain’s All Share Index gained 0.3 per cent, Kuwait’s gauge increased 0.7 per cent. Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index retreated 0.3 per cent after gaining 1.2 per cent on Saturday. Markets in the United Arab Emirates are closed for an Islamic holiday.
Qatar, projected by the International Monetary Fund to have the world’s fastest-growing economy this year, plans to more than double the number of hotel rooms, build nine stadiums and refurbish three others and construct a rail and metro network for the tournament. The US estimates that the tournament is worth $5 billion to the hosts.
QNB stock soars
Shares valued at about 1.2 billion riyals ($330 million) traded in Qatar yesterday, the most since June 2008. Qatar National Bank (QNB) jumped 4.5 per cent to 183.6 riyals, the highest since September 2005. Barwa Real Estate rose to 36 riyals, the highest since October 2009.
The country plans to spend $4 billion on the stadium construction and refurbishment programme. With summer temperatures approaching 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit), each facility will be designed with a solar-powered air-conditioning system. A new 200,000-population city called Lusail, north of the capital, is scheduled to be built over the next decade and will feature the stadium that hosts the World Cup final.
Qatar expects to construct a rail and metro network, costing more than $25 billion, in Doha and extending to cities outside the capital. It’s also planning the longest bridge in the world to connect to the nearby island kingdom of Bahrain, and aims to open a new airport next year.
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Times of Oman
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