Qatar exchange index snaps losing streak and rises 1.29%

10/05/2016 06:04 AST

Qatar exchange (QE) benchmark index snapped a five-day losing streak and added 1.29 percent driven by blue chips. Foreign investors were the net buyers. Ooredoo jumped 4.4 percent.

Qatar Insurance increased by 3.49 percent, Masraf Al Rayan gained 1.83 percent and Gulf Warehousing advanced by 1.69 percent. Barwa was up 1.56 percent and Ezdan rose 1.98 percent. Doha Bank lost 0.27 percent.

Total traded value surged to QR308m from the previous session’s QR112m.Trading volume reached 7.83 million shares, compared to 3.87 million shares exchanged yesterday. With Vodafone gaining 1.56 percent, the telecom sector outperformed other sectors by surging 3.77 percent. The insurance sector rose 2.83 percent, supported by a 6.32 percent jump in Doha Insurance.

The banking and consumer goods and service sectors made the lowest gains by adding 0.74 percent.

Shares in the Middle East were mixed yesterday as some stocks advanced on positive news while Saudi Arabia’s real estate companies retreated after a land tax was announced. Riyadh’s index edged up 0.3 percent in modest volume. As part of the country’s economic reform campaign, the Housing Ministry said on Sunday that it was imposing an annual tax on undeveloped urban land. The levy will be equivalent to 2.5 percent of the value of the land, Reuters reported.

In Dubai, Air Arabia climbed 3.2 percent after the budget airline reported a 42.2 percent rise in first-quarter net profit to Dhs111.1m ($30.3m). Analysts polled by Reuters had on average forecast Dhs 88.8m.

Abu Dhabi’s stock index edged up 0.6 percent. Blue chips provided the main support, with Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and Etisalat adding 1.3 and 0.8 percent respectively.

Agthia Group rose 1.1 percent after reporting a 14 percent year-on-year rise in first-quarter net profit on a 12 percent increase in net revenue.

In Cairo, Telecom Egypt failed to hold onto early gains and edged down 0.4 percent to 7.97 Egyptian pounds. The country’s state-owned landline monopoly posted an almost 116 percent jump in first-quarter net profit, citing growth in its retail business.

“The bottom line was positively impacted by gross margin improvements, resulting from a change in the revenue mix, solid contribution from Vodafone Egypt (where it has a 45 percent stake) and a transactional foreign exchange gain,” said a note by Cairo’s Naeem Holding, maintaining a “buy” rating on the stock with a price target of 11.0 pounds.

The main Egyptian stock index rose 1.0 percent. Orascom Construction added 0.5 percent after it said it had won two contracts worth $308 m ) for work on the third phase of Cairo’s third metro rail line.

The Peninsula