Qatar Shares Advance to 2-Week High

30/06/2011 00:00 AST

Qatar’s shares rose to the highest in more than two weeks on speculation second-quarter earnings will exceed estimates. Bahrain’s measure also advanced.

Commercial Bank of Qatar QSC, the Persian Gulf country’s second-biggest bank by assets, climbed 1.8 percent. Industries Qatar QSC (IQCD), the second-largest petrochemicals company in the Middle East, increased to the highest in almost two weeks. Qatar’s QE Index (DSM) added 0.3 percent to 8,361.07, the highest since June 15, at the 1:15 p.m. close in Doha. The measure jumped 1.8 percent this week, trimming the decline for the quarter to 1.1 percent.

“There are some positive expectations” for second-quarter earnings in Qatar, said Ashraf Yassin, a Doha-based sales trader at QInvest. “Locals are positioning themselves before the release” of the financial statements.

Commercial Bank of Qatar (CBQK) on April 19 said first-quarter profit rose 9 percent to 446 million riyals on gains from interest income. Commercial Bank gained to 72.1 riyals, the highest since June 1.

Industries Qatar gained 0.4 percent to 136.2 riyals, the highest since June 19.

About 5.1 million shares were traded in Qatar today, compared with a 12-month daily average of 8.8 million. Volumes are low as it’s the last day of the month and not all stock markets in the region are open, QInvest’s Yassin said.

Exchanges in the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Kuwait are closed for a Muslim holiday, while Saudi Arabia’s market is closed for the weekend. The Bahrain Bourse All Share Index, the only other Persian Gulf stock market to trade today, increased 0.2 percent, the most since June 14.

Bloomberg