By: Eman Ghaly
Mubasher: The Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) ended Monday in the red, for the fourth consecutive session, dragged by the drop of six sectors, amid thin liquidity.
The general index inched down 0.47%, or 40.75 points, to 8,711.91 points.
By the end of Monday’s session, market capitalisation declined 0.5% to QAR 479.53 billion from QAR 482.16 billion on Sunday.
The decline in the US markets over the last period, which was the second biggest drop in 2018, took its toll on the Arab bourses in general, and the QSE in particular, investment manager at Nama Economic Consulting Ahmed Maher told Mubasher.
Over the next period, the QSE's benchmark index targets resistance at 8,800 points, after that it is expected to hit 9,100 points, Maher added.
The QSE’s liquidity went down to QAR 158.74 million on Monday from QAR 198.83 million on Sunday, while the trading volume dropped to 6.78 million shares against 11.59 million in the previous session.
The industrial sector topped the market’s losers falling 0.35% as Qatar Electricity and Water Company levelled down 1.53%, while the banking sector declined 0.34% after Qatar National Bank (QNB) inched down 0.38%.
On the positive side, the real estate sector was the QSE’s only gainer adding 0.16% as Ezdan Holding Group grew 1.01%.
Qatar First Bank’s stock, which decreased 0.42%, led the bourse in terms of trading volume with 1.6 million shares, while Masraf Al Rayan’s stock, which retreated 0.89%, topped the market in terms of liquidity with QAR 18.5 million.
Translated by: Kholoud Mohamed Hussein
