The Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) index decreased by 169.91 points, or 2.04%, during the trading week to close at 8,172.18. Market capitalisation decreased by 1.66% to QR446.3bn versus QR453.8bn at the end of the previous trading week. Of the 45 listed companies, six ended the week higher, while 34 declined and five remained unchanged. Mannai Corp (MCCS) was the best performing stock for the week with a gain of 9.7% on 2,282 shares traded. On the other hand, Qatari Investors Group (QIGD) was the worst performing stock for the week with a decline of 8.7% on 122,592 shares traded.
Industries Qatar (IQCD), Barwa Real Estate (BRES) and Commercial Bank of Qatar (CBQK) were the primary contributors to the weekly index decline. IQCD was the biggest contributor to the index’s weekly decline, deleting 47.8 points to the index. BRES was the second biggest contributor to the decline, shaving off 21.1 points to the index. Moreover, CBQK deleted 19.9 points from the index. Alternatively, QNB Group (QNBK) contributed positively to the index, adding 8.1 points.
Trading value during the week decreased by 11.77% to reach QR746.1mn versus QR845.6mn in the prior week. The banks and financial services sector led the trading value during the week, accounting for 48.47% of the total trading value. The industrials sector was the second biggest contributor to the overall trading value, accounting for 18.80% of the total trading value. QNB Group (QNBK) was the top value traded stock during the week with total traded value of QR120.5mn.
Trading volume decreased by 18.18% to reach 31.8mn shares versus 38.9mn in the prior week. The number of transactions fell by 11.24% to reach 11,276 versus 12,704 transactions in the prior week. The banks and financial services sector led the trading volume, accounting for 46.77%, followed by the real estate sector which accounted for 18.69% of the overall trading volume.
Qatar First Bank (QFBK) was the top volume traded stock during the week with 7.9mn shares.
Foreign institutions remained bullish with net buying of QR66.0mn versus net buying of QR75.7mn in the prior week. Qatari institutions remained bearish with net selling of QR44.3mn versus net selling of QR66.2mn the week before. Foreign retail investors remained bullish with net buying of QR3.7mn versus net buying of QR12.9mn in the prior week. Qatari retail investors remained bearish with net selling of QR25.5mn versus net selling of QR22.5mn the week before.
In 2017 year-to-date, foreign institutions bought (on a net basis) $651mn worth of equities.
