The Doha Securities Market said it cancelled Wednesday's trades in Barwa Real Estate Co, Qatar's largest property developer by market value to "protect investors".

The move followed after the shares bucked a fall in the index.

Shares of Barwa jumped 3.56 percent, the biggest gainer in Doha and the second-largest by volume traded.

Almost 4.6 million shares - worth 260 million riyals ($71.53 million) - were exchanged, nearly seven times the daily average during the last three months, according to Reuters data. The index fell 0.49 percent.

After the market closed, Barwa said it planned to raise 500 million riyals by selling stock to existing shareholders to finance projects in Qatar and abroad.

The company, which is not in the index, was seeking Ministry of Economy approval to sell 50 million shares at 10 riyals each, it said in a statement on the Doha bourse Web site.

"The decision was taken in order to protect investors," the bourse said in a statement on the Web site. It did not give details. - Reuters