(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Fresh fall in oil prices pulled Qatari stocks further down yesterday. The entire sector indexes ended in the red, led by telecom and real estate sectors. The benchmark index declined 0.93 percent to close the day at 11,734.69.
Nearly QR5bn was wiped out from the market yesterday. Total traded volume declined to 3 million shares from the previous session's 4 million shares and the value fell to QR169m from QR197m.
Among the sector indexes, telecom was the top loser. Telecom stocks declined 1.57 percent, weighed by Ooredoo which lost 1.9 percent.
The banking and financial services sector edged down 0.65 percent due to a 1.22 percent decline in Qatar National Bank (QNB). But Commercial Bank of Qatar edged up 0.2 percent, extending gains since index compiler MSCI announced late last week that it would nearly double the stock's weighting in its emerging markets index.
Bellwether Industries Qatar (IQ) shed 1.19 percent, pulling the Industrials stocks down by 0.73 percent. The real estate sector was down 1.33 percent. Barwa lost the most by 2.14 percent. Qatar General Insurance and Reinsurance Company led the gainers, rising 3.32 percent. Gulf Warehousing Company fell 3.95 percent.
Ezdan Holding Group was the most active company with its trading volume reaching 757,900 shares. QNB was the value leader.
Meanwhile, most Middle East stock markets fell as oil prices remained weak, but some shares in Dubai, Saudi Arabia and Egypt rebounded after particularly steep drops in the previous session. Saudi Arabia's main index edged down 0.3 percent to 8,437 points but closed well off its intra-day low of 8,381 points.
Oil shipper Bahri was one of main supports, jumping 2.5 percent. The stock had tumbled 8.3 percent in the previous session after tanker freight rates from the Gulf to Japan dropped to their lowest in more than 10 months. Some beaten-down blue chips also attracted bargain-hunters after Sunday's sell-off. Al Rajhi Bank added 0.8 percent and Saudi Basic Industries edged up 0.3 percent.
But most shares fell and Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) was the main drag on the index, tumbling 6.1 percent to a fresh six-and-a-half-year low of SR26.20.
Dubai's index closed 0.1 percent lower at 3,927 after hitting an intra-day low of 3,911 points, close to chart support at its May low of 3,913 points. Arabtec rose 2.4 percent after tumbling 5.4 percent in the previous session on poor second-quarter results. The firm posted its third quarterly loss in a row, while analysts had expected a profit.
Abu Dhabi's bourse fell 0.9 percent and Abu Dhabi National Insurance Co tumbled 9.4 percent, having reported a Dh299m loss for the first half of 2015 at the end of last week, compared with a profit of Dh104m a year earlier. Eshraq Properties, which on Sunday posted a 92 percent drop in second-quarter profit, lost 1.4 percent.
Egypt's bourse closed 0.4 percent lower at 7,594 points, trimming losses after it rebounded from technical support near its July low of 7,527 points. Juhayna Food Industries, which had tumbled 7.5 percent on Monday, rose 1.4 percent. The stock had come under pressure after state media said the bourse was poised to freeze trading of chairman Safwan Thabet's shares in the company because of his alleged links to the banned Muslim Brotherhood. Property developer Medinet Nasr also rebounded, gaining 1.6 percent after the market had initially ignored its second-quarter profit increase in Sunday's broad sell-off.
HIGHLIGHTS
SAUDI ARABIA: The index edged down 0.3 percent to 8,437 points.
DUBAI: The index slipped 0.1 percent to 3,927 points.
ABU DHABI: The index lost 0.9 percent to 4,631 points.
EGYPT: The index edged down 0.4 percent to 7,594 points.
KUWAIT: The index fell 1.1 percent to 6,196 points.
OMAN: The index lost 1.2 percent to 6,220 points.
BAHRAIN: The index was flat at 1,332 points.
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