Qatar shares rise to two-week high

Qatar's shares rose to the highest in more than two weeks on speculation second-quarter earnings will exceed estimates. Bahrain's measure also advanced. Commercial Bank of Qatar QSC, the country's second-biggest bank by assets, climbed 1.8 per cent. Industries Qatar QSC, the second-largest petrochemicals company in the Middle East, increased to the highest in almost two weeks. Qatar's QE Index added 0.3 per cent to 8,361.07, the highest since June 15. The measure jumped 1.8 per cent this week, trimming the decline for the quarter to 1.1 per cent. "There are some positive expectations" for second-quarter earnings in Qatar, said Ashraf Yassin, a Doha-based sales trader at QInvest. "Locals are positioning themselves before the release" of the financial statements. Commercial Bank of Qatar on April 19 said first-quarter profit rose 9 per cent to 446 million riyals on gains from interest income. Commercial Bank gained to 72.1 riyals, the highest since June 1. Industries Qatar gained 0.4 per cent to 136.2 riyals, the highest since June 19. About 5.1 million shares were traded in Qatar yesterday, compared with a 12-month daily average of 8.8 million. From / Gulf News