Weakened Qatar offers up bargains

Qatar’s hammered stocks gained some relief yesterday after their worst week in more than two years, as investors took advantage of cheap bargains following the price slump of earlier in the week.

Shares in the UAE were mixed, while Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul closed lower.

The Qatar Exchange ended the day up 3 per cent as Qatari retail and institutional investors took advantage of cheap deals, following a 10 per cent drop in valuations since the start of the week.

Masraf Al Rayan and Qatar Gas Transport led gainers, rising 5.1 per cent and 8.4 per cent, respectively, with only two stocks ending in the red.

But institutions outside Qatar remained net sellers of equities during the day, suggesting an ongoing lack of confidence in the country.

"The current crisis adds new concerns about Qatar’s vulnerability to disruption to trade and financial flows, and we think that this will remain an overhang on private sector activity, even if the crisis is resolved quickly," analysts from EFG-Hermes said in a research note issued yesterday.

Qatari credit default swaps rose sharply for the third day in a row, hitting their highest level in six months.

In Saudi Arabia, the Tadawul finished around 1.2 per cent lower on weaker oil prices.

Brent crude fell below US$47.83 a barrel yesterday afternoon after the announcement of a surprise rise in US oil inventories.

The stocks in the Dubai finished down about 0.2 per cent at 3,400.10, with gains by Aramex and Deyaar Development cancelled out by falls by Dubai Investments and Emaar Properties.

Shares in Abu Dhabi rose 0.5 per cent, thanks to gains by FAB and Dana Gas.