(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Qatar Stock Exchange was back in the negative turf and its key index lost 152 points mainly due to profit booking by foreign institutions.
Telecom, realty and banking counters witnessed brisk selling as the 20-stock Qatar Index fell 1.25% to 12,049.1 points on lower trade volumes.
Domestic institutions' buying interests were seen weakening in the market, which is down 1.93% year-to-date.
Large cap equities bore the maximum brunt in the bourse, where trading was largely skewed towards the real estate, telecom and banking sectors, whose stocks together constituted about three-fourth of the overall trading volume.
Market capitalisation shed 1.09% or more than QR7bn to QR641.64bn mainly due to a 1.68% fall in large cap equities; while small and mid caps rose 0.27% and 0.17% respectively.
The Total Return Index fell 1.23% to 18,728.6 points, All Share Index by 0.97% to 3,224.55 points and Al Rayan Islamic Index by 0.78% to 4,689 points.
Telecom stocks shrank 1.64%, realty (1.36%), banks and financial services (1.26%), industrials (0.94%) and insurance (0.56%); whereas consumer goods and transport rose 0.67% and 0.59% respectively.
Major losers included QNB, Industries Qatar, Ooredoo, Ezdan, Barwa, Qatar Islamic Bank, Commercial Bank, Doha Bank, Alijarah Holding, Masraf Al Rayan, Qatar Electricity and Water and Gulf International Services; even as Mazaya Qatar, Milaha, Nakilat, Widam Food and Qatari German Company for Medical Devices bucked the trend.
Non-Qatari institutions turned net sellers to the tune of QR23.14mn against net buyers of QR50.28mn on Tuesday.
Domestic institutions' net buying weakened to QR13.57mn compared to QR60.34mn the previous day.
However, non-Qatari individual investors turned net buyers to the extent of QR6.85mn against net sellers of QR11.2mn on June 30.
The GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) retail investors were also net buyers to the tune of QR2.47mn compared with net sellers of QR16.17mn on Tuesday.
The GCC institutions' net buying strengthened to QR7.69mn against QR3.84mn the previous day.
Local retail investors' net profit booking decreased to QR7.44mn compared to QR87.03mn on June 30.
Total trade volume fell 49% to 4.89mn shares, value by 60% to QR206.2mn and deals by 35% to 2,954.
The market witnessed 80% plunge in the insurance sector's trade volume to 0.03mn equities, 80% in value to QR2.81mn and 64% in transactions to 37.
The industrials sector's trade volume plummeted 67% to 0.54mn stocks, value by 71% to QR39.31mn and deals by 48% to 619.
The real estate sector saw 65% shrinkage in trade volume to 1.36mn shares, 63% in value to QR36.48mn and 53% in transactions to 540.
The banks and financial services sector's trade volume tanked 57% to 1.06mn equities, value by 64% to QR74.29mn and deals by 41% to 704.
There was 39% decline in the consumer goods sector's trade volume to 0.48mn stocks, 27% in value to QR17.56mn and 45% in transactions to 219.
However, the telecom sector's trade volume almost tripled to QR1.24mn shares but only to see 21% fall in value to QR29.57mn. Deals expanded 75% to 733.
The transport sector reported 27% surge in trade volume to 0.19mn equities, 34% in value to QR6.17mn and 12% in transactions to 102.
In the debt market, there was no trading of treasury bills and government bonds.
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