Dubai: Qatar’s index fell more than 1 per cent on Tuesday on continued profit-taking following the rally triggered by its upgrade to the FTSE Russell index.
The index closed 1.17 per cent lower at 10,713.23, after falling to a low of 10,645.72. The index had gained more than 6 per cent since August 1 on the back of its upgrade.
“People are taking money off the table after the run-up following the FTSE Russell index,” Hisham Khairy, head of Institutional Trading at Menacorp said.
In stock-specific action, banking stocks led losses, with the Qatar National Bank closing more than 3 per cent lower at 155.70 Qatari riyals.
Qatar Islamic Bank closed more than 1 per cent at 107.50 riyals.
Out of a total of 41 stocks, the shares of 33 firms fell, while those of seven rose.
Retail speculation
In the UAE, large-capitalisation stocks like Arabtec witnessed buying earlier in the session. Arabtec hit a high of Dh1.56 but later closed almost flat at Dh1.53.
Small-cap shares such as Drake and Scull also witnessed activity, with volumes touching their highest in four months.
Concerning other stocks, investors refrained from taking fresh positions ahead of holidays.
“The markets were flat. Small-cap stocks are seeing some retail speculation, but we are not seeing any activity in large caps,” Khairy said.
The Dubai Financial Market General Index (DFMGI) closed 0.06 per cent lower at 3,544.19 while the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index closed 0.08 per cent higher at 4,515.41.
“We are waiting for triggers, as oil is not moving much, global markets are not moving much. We are waiting for something to happen either on [the] oil or global markets front,” Khairy said.
Elsewhere in the Gulf, the Muscat MSM 30 index closed 0.36 per cent higher at 5.769.36 while the Kuwait exchange index closed 0.35 per cent higher at 5,399.71.
Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul index was 0.46 per cent lower at 6,175.84.
