The Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) index increased by 304.36 points, or 3.2%, during the week to close at 9,836.96. Market capitalisation increased by 2.8% to QR531.8bn versus QR517.1bn at the end of the previous week. Of the 44 listed companies, 30 ended the week higher, while 11 fell and only three remained unchanged. Ezdan Holding Group (ERES) was the best performing stock for the week with a gain of 5.8% on 2.1mn shares traded. On the other hand, Ahli Bank (ABQK) was the worst performing with a decline of 6.2% on 116,125 shares traded.
ERES, QNB Group (QNBK) and Industries Qatar (IQCD) were the primary contributors to the weekly index gain. ERES was the biggest contributor, adding 78.5 points to the index. QNBK was the second biggest contributor, tacking on 63.5 points to the index. Moreover, IQCD contributed 42.8 points to the index. On the other hand, Qatar Insurance Co (QATI) erased 10.5 points off the index.
Trading value during the week increased by 4.5% to reach QR1.1bn versus QR1.0bn in the prior week. The banks and financial services sector led the trading value during the week, accounting for 48.9% of the total trading value. The industrials sector was the second biggest contributor to the overall trading value, accounting for 16.3% of the total. Qatar Islamic Bank (QIBK) was the top value traded stock during the week with total traded value of QR237.4mn.
Trading volume increased by 13.4% to reach 29.9mn shares versus 26.3mn in the prior week. The number of transactions decreased by 5.9% to reach 14,304 versus 15,193 in the prior week. The banks and financial services sector led the trading volume, accounting for 37.2%, followed by the telecoms sector, which accounted for 22.9%. Vodafone Qatar (VFQS) was the top volume traded stock during the week with total traded volume of 6.4mn shares.
Foreign institutions turned bullish during the week with net buying of QR158.3mn versus net selling of QR21.6mn in the prior week. Qatari institutions turned bearish with net selling of QR41.6mn versus net buying of QR16.3mn the week before. Foreign retail investors remained bearish for the week with net selling of QR26.2mn versus net selling of QR22.8mn in the prior week. Qatari retail investors turned bearish with net selling of QR90.5mn versus net buying of QR28.1mn the week before.
In 2016 year-to-date, foreign institutions bought (on a net basis) $415mn worth of Qatari equities.
QNB
