07/03/2015 05:31 AST
Qatar Stock Exchange witnessed erosion of more than 300 points and about QR15bn in capitalisation, becoming the second worst performer among the Gulf bourses, mainly dragged by large and mid cap stocks during the week.
The market was seen flat for two of the four trading sessions but steep intra-week decline led the 20-stock Qatar Index shed a sizeable 2.46% to remain under the 12,200 level largely on domestic reasons during the week that saw Mesaieed Petrochemical Holding Company (MPHC) sound cautious in this year's earnings owing to prevailing economic conditions on global price levels of the group’s key products and planned shutdowns.
In comparison, Dubai plunged 3.03%, Abu Dhabi (2.11%), Kuwait (0.94%), Bahrain (0.53%) and Muscat (0.5%); while Saudi Arabia gained 2.18% during the week.
Qatari bourse has so far (year-to-date) reported 1.19% decline against Saudi Arabia’s stupendous 14.2% gains, Muscat’s 2.89%, Bahrain’s 2.83%, Abu Dhabi’s 1.29% and Kuwait (0.055); while Dubai was down 0.7%.
Foreign institutions turned bearish to drag the Qatari bourse during the week that saw Doha Bank receive shareholders approval for the $2bn multi-tranche debt notes ‘bonds’, the first of which is expected to hit the market either by this month or early next.
Local retail investors and domestic institutions were seen brisk buyers, amidst an overall bearish overhang in the market, where real estate, banking and industrials stocks dominate the trading ring in terms of volumes during the week that featured global credit rating agency Standard and Poor's (S&P) say the global contagion of weaker crude may be 'underestimated' in the banking sector of certain oil exporting countries, particularly Qatar, due to the direct credit exposure to government and related entities.
Selling pressure was particularly witnessed in the realty, banks and consumer goods counters during the week that saw Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) open new headquarters in London for its subsidiary QIB-UK, whose focus is on supporting the investment and trade flows between the two countries.
Lower than expected dividends did pull down certain underlying stocks that led to an overall bearish overhang in the market, analysts said.
Real estate stocks plunged 1.73%, banks and financial services (1.71%), consumer goods (1.41%), telecom (0.89%), industrials (0.64%) and insurance (0.39%); while transport rose 1.06% during the week that saw S&P say falling oil prices are unlikely to spur Gulf's Islamic debt issue in 2015; even as no "meaningful" correlation between oil price swings and trends in GCC sovereign sukuk issuance could be ferreted out.
The 20-stock Total Return Index shed 1.32%, All Share Index (comprising wider constituents) by 1.17% and Al Rayan Islamic Index by 1.27% during the week that featured Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s view that the Gulf economies are expected to grow slower this year and throw up twin deficits on flattish hydrocarbons and softer non-hydrocarbon sector.
Of the 43 stocks, only 15 gained, while 27 declined and one was unchanged. Seven each of the 12 banks and financial services and the nine industrials, five of the eight consumer goods, three of the five insurers, two each of the four real estate and the two telecom and one of the three transport stocks closed lower during the week.
Major losers included Doha Bank, Masraf Al Rayan, Industries Qatar, Ezdan, Mazaya Qatar, QIB, Gulf International Services, MPHC and Ooredoo; even as Mannai Corporation, Commercial Bank, Nakilat, Salam International Investment and Milaha bucked the trend during the week.
For more on this
Click Here
Gulf Times
Please wait...
