04/01/2011 00:00 AST
Qatar Exchange in the green area once again yesterday adding 131.03 points or 1.50 percent to 8,872.53 points from 8,741.50 on Sunday.
The volume of shares traded up to 7,059,423 from 6,534,339 on Sunday and the value of shares was increased to QR328,567,814.00 from QR275,258,294.35 on Sunday.
Top gainers were Qatar Navigation which was up 6.95 percent to QR100, Industries Qatar rose 2.57 percent to QR143.60, Barwa gained 1.38 percent to QR36.70, Rayan up by 0.53 percent to QR19.10 and Qatar Islamic Bank by 0.49 percent to QR82.30.
The banking and financial sector gained 190.87, the insurance sector up 166.47 and the services sector was added 87.11 points.
Meanwhile, a weekend church bombing that killed 21 people and subsequent street protests weighed on Egypt’s benchmark index as some foreigners sold blue-chip stocks, traders said.
The dip is likely to be brief, they said, because the stability that has bolstered Egypt’s economy remains broadly intact and recent figures show the global economy strengthening.
The index falls 0.1 percent to close at 7,073 points after touching a seven-month high of 7,142 points on Thursday. Index heavyweights Commercial International Bank (CIB) and Orascom Construction (OCI) dropped 1.1 percent and one percent, respectively.
CIB is the most heavily traded stock, while OCI posted its biggest single-day drop since December 1.
A suspected suicide bomber wounded 97 people in the blast in Alexandria, which prompted hundreds of Christians in Muslim-majority Egypt to protest against a failure of the authorities to protect them.
“There is lack of clarity, and investors always want clarity. Any investor would be worried. It is normal since this is a major incident that harms anyone in Egypt,” said Hisham Metwalli of Arab Finance Brokerage.
“Protests and clashes that followed the attack also raised concerns on stability.”
Mohamed Kotb, director of asset management at Naeem Brokerage, expects investor appetite to return, spurred by expectations that a global economic recovery is gathering strength.
“Globally, there are expectations of an economic rebound ... There is positive sentiment on equities as long as the EGX30 index remains above the 7,000 point level,” said Kotb.
Orascom Telecom (OT) inched up 0.2 percent. It fell earlier in the day after an Algerian website reported, without citing sources, that Algeria’s government had selected US firm Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt &Mosle LLP to find a valuation for OT’s unit Djezzy, which Algeria wants to buy.
There are concerns among investors that the price set by the American firm will be lower than expected, Metwalli said.
He said an absence of news on Vimpelcom’s revised $6.6bn bid to buy OT assets is also weighing on OT stock. Vimpelcom said on December 21 it wanted to renegotiate the deal. The Saudi bourse index hovering at highs of almost eight months, rose for a fifth straight session as oil prices resumed their climb.
Heavyweight Saudi Basic Industries Corp (Sabic) climbs 1.4 percent and Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Co added 0.7 percent. The benchmark rose 0.3 percent to end at 6,677 points.
Mohammad Al Mojil Group jumped 4.7 percent after announcing it signed a $52.5m contract with South Korea’s Hyundai Engineering and Construction Co to build an engine oil factory in Abu Dhabi.
Agencies
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