By: Eman Ghaly
Mubasher: The general index of the Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) closed in red territory on Thursday, shedding 83.89 points, or 0.8%, to 10,412.51 points.
By the end of the last session of the week, market capitalisation reached QAR 593.97 billion ($164.34 billion), decreasing 0.9%.
These declines can be traced back to the changes in oil prices, as well as other concerns over a potential global economic depression, financial analyst Mahmoud Abu Zeid told Mubasher.
The GCC markets are suffering due to fluctuations resulted by the troubled oil market, he added.
However, the silver lining in such problem is the Saudi plan to cut the kingdom oil output in 2019, which could help restore stability in the market and improve prices, Abu Zeid said.
As for the Qatar Central Bank's (QCB) decision to up the interest rates on bank deposits, the analyst said that such decision did not have a significant impact on Thursday’s trading.
The QSE is expected to see better performance in the next period based on the approaching disclosures period, the analyst remarked.
The general index targets support at 10,350 and resistance at 10,550, he noted.
The stock of Qatar Aluminums Manufacturing Company (QAMCO) topped gainers, surging 5.57% to QAR 14.4, acquiring 37% of the market’s liquidity.
The QSE’s trading volume reached 27.24 million shares, while the market’s liquidity stood at QAR 664.97 million.
The sectors saw a massive drop on Thursday, including the banking sector, which lost 1.46%.
Meanwhile, the consumer goods sector also shed 0.82% and industrials levelled down 0.31%.
Translated by: Muhammad Khalid
