(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Fresh fall in oil prices pushed Qatari stocks down yesterday. Real estate sector recorded the day's biggest losses. The bourse's benchmark index lost 1.36 percent, or 160.03 points, to finish at 11,610.22, due to profit booking by retail investors. At least QR7bn wiped out from the market yesterday as the week opened for trading. On YTD basis, the market is 1.36 percent down.
Blue chips were the main drag. Heavyweight Industries Qatar (IQ) shed 2.47 percent, while QNB fell 0.71 percent and Doha Bank lost1.71 percent. Masraf Al Rayan edged 1.13 percent down.
Among the sector indices, real estate was the worst performer, with Barwa losing the most by 3,33 percent. Ezdan fell 2.19 percent. Mazya plunged 2.13 percent and UDC was down by 0.39 percent. The services sector was the only gainer after adding 0.07 percent.
Most stock markets in the Gulf edged down in early trade yesterday after oil prices hit fresh multi-month lows, Reuters reported.
Crude oil dipped on Friday, posting a sixth straight week of losses, as the approaching end of the US summer driving season suggested a growing surplus in gasoline supply.
Although most listed companies in the Gulf have no direct exposure to oil, government spending fuelled by oil revenues is the main driver of economic growth in the region, the report said.
Qatar Exchange (QE) declined 3.4 percent month-on-month in July after rising 1.3 percent MoM in June, 2015. The index trended downward for most of the month, with intermediate brief gains. Profit booking by the local investors led to weakness in the markets. The value traded in July fell 41.2 percent to $0.8bn from $1.4bn in the previous month. On YTD basis, the market declined 4.1 percent in July on MoM, analysts at Global Research noted yesterday.
In a separate report on the performance of Mena market, the Kuwait Financial Centre (Markaz) said Mena markets gave lackluster returns during the month of July 2015. "The celebration of the holy month of Ramadan led to the drying up of liquidity in the Mena markets in July, with volume falling 33 percent and value traded falling 29 percent.."
Analysts are bullish on Qatar, particularly on banks and real estate. According to Moody's Investors Service, strong spending by the Qatari government will enable banks to maintain their robust financial metrics, including strong earnings and lower non-performing loans (NPL) in the next 12-18 months. The Qatari banks hold a large proportion of high-quality government-related loans, their asset quality will remain strong. The government has approved a draft law for practicing real estate brokering in Qatar. The new law has established obligations and accountabilities for the real estate brokers, the ratings agency noted recently.
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