(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Qatar Exchange (QE) index gained 25.19 points or 0.21 percent when the bourse closed trading at 11,836.75 points yesterday. The daily turnover decreased to QR129.22m with a volume of 2,992,248 shares from 2,656 deals compared to QR196.57m with a volume of 3,604,728 shares from 3,052 deals on Tuesday.
The market capitalisation decreased to QR626.82bn from QR627bn on Tuesday. Indices of four sectors ended in green and three in the red. Of the 43 companies listed on QE, investors exchanged shares of 41. From these 22 gained, 18 went down and one remained unchanged.
Meanwhile, most Gulf stock markets rose. The main Saudi index edged up 0.2 percent. Saudi Basic Industries rose just as much and was the most traded stock in Riyadh. Saudi International Petrochemical Co, which had fallen 8 percent this week, climbed 1.6 percent.
Most banks gained, led by leading retail lender Al Rajhi , which added 1 percent. A US Federal Reserve official said on Tuesday that the central bank was close to raising interest rates, a move which is likely to be followed by Saudi Arabia because its riyal is pegged to the dollar.
A significant part of Saudi banks' funding comes from demand deposits bearing no interest, so higher rates could boost their margins - though they could also slow lending growth.
In other sectors, Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) fell 1.3 percent, extending to 11.5 percent its decline since the firm revised earnings for more than two years and posted a second-quarter loss this week.
Dubai's index rose 1.7 percent, with Damac accounting for almost a third of total traded value, jumping its daily 15 percent limit to a record high of 3.68 dirhams. Damac said its second-quarter profit more than tripled to Dh1.42bn ($387m). It also announced an interim dividend of 10 percent cash and 10 percent bonus shares. The cash payout will be its first since it listed in Dubai in January.
Abu Dhabi's bourse edged up 0.6 percent and energy firm Dana Gas, which had earlier tumbled 18 percent from its July peak in response to oil's weakness, surged 5.6 percent. Developer Aldar Properties jumped 2.3 percent.
Egypt's market fell 0.8 percent, giving up early gains as heavyweight Commercial International Bank dropped 2.7 percent and a number of property stocks pulled back after rallying earlier in the week. Most selling pressure came from non-Arab foreigners as the dollar's gains on the Fed comments put pressure on emerging markets across the world.
However, Juhayna Food Industries surged 6.4 percent after the firm said a travel ban imposed on its chairman Safwan Thabet in a crackdown on Mubarak-era business tycoons had been lifted.
HIGHLIGHTS
SAUDI ARABIA: The index edged up 0.2 percent to 8,791 points.
DUBAI: The index rose 1.7 percent to 4,165 points.
ABU DHABI: The index climbed 0.6 percent to 4,843 points.
EGYPT: The index fell 0.8 percent to 8,114 points.
KUWAIT: The index edged up 0.2 percent to 6,238 points.
OMAN: The index fell 0.6 percent to 6,430 points.
BAHRAIN: The index slipped 0.1 percent to 1,332 points.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.