The Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) Index lost 333.04 points, or 2.42%, during the week, to close at 13,443.16 points. Market capitalisation decreased by 1.5% to reach QR719.4bn compared to 730.2bn at the end of the previous week. Of the 43 listed companies, 13 companies ended the week higher, while 30 fell and none remain unchanged. Islamic Holding Group (IHGS) was the best performing stock for the week, with a gain of 7.78% on 1.8mn shares traded; the stock is up 110.9% year-to-date (YTD). Vodafone Qatar (VFQS) was the worst performing, with a decline of 10.59% on 6.0mn shares traded. The stock is still up 80.6% YTD. The stock declined as investors booked profits given recent gains.
Masraf Al Rayan (MARK), Ooredoo (ORDS) and Qatar Electricity and Water (QEWS) were the biggest contributors to the weekly index decline. MARK contributed 162.11 points to the index’s weekly decline of 333.0 points. The stock has been one of the best performing stocks in 2014 YTD with a price return of 66.13%. ORDS pulled the index down by 53.46 points; the stock has also been one of the worst performing in 2014 YTD with a drop of 16.69%. QEWS was the third biggest contributor, shaving off 49.82 points.
On the other hand within the QSE Index, QNB Group (QNBK) and Industries Qatar (IQCD) ended in positive territory. QNBK ended the week contributing 69.80 points to the index; the stock is up 17.44% YTD. Furthermore, IQCD also contributed positively to the index by adding 51.52 points; the stock is up 14.56% YTD.
Trading value during the week increased by 11.6% to reach QR4.9bn vs QR4.4bn in the prior week. The banks and financial services sector led the trading value during the week, accounting for 48.4% of the total equity trading value. QNB Group and Industries Qatar were the top value traded stocks during the week with total traded value of QR844.7mn and QR800.1mn, respectively.
Trading volume decreased by 21.7% to reach 80.6mn shares vs 103.0mn shares in the prior week. The number of transactions fell by 3.1% to reach 40,604 transactions versus 41,910 transactions in the prior week. The real estate sector led the trading volume, accounting for 38.5%. Mazaya Qatar (MRDS) was the top volume traded stock during the week with total traded volume of 14.8mn shares.
Foreign institutions remained bullish during the week with net buying of QR477.5mn vs QR82.8mn in the prior week. Qatari institutions remained bearish with net selling of QR303.4mn vs net selling of QR16.6mn the week before. Foreign retail investors turned bearish for the week with net selling of QR39.9mn vs net buying of QR76.7mn in the prior week. Qatari retail investors remained bearish with net selling of QR134.2mn vs net selling of QR142.9mn the week before. Thus far in 2014, the QSE has already witnessed net foreign portfolio investment inflow of $2.3bn.
