Ahead of Eid holidays, bearish sentiments weaken QSE as index tanks 160 points

Ahead of Eid holidays, the Qatar Stock Exchange closed the week weak with its key index plunging 160 points and capitalisation eroding in excess of QR11bn.

The telecom, industrials and real estate counters witnessed higher than average selling pressure as the 20-stock Qatar Index shed 1.58% this week which saw Standard and Poor’s expects Qatar banks’ net external debt to decline in the next 12-24 months.

The Arab retail investors were seen bearish this week which saw Commercial Bank and Masraf Al Rayan report first quarter (Q1) net profit at QR751.3mn and QR384.95mn respectively.

About 58% of the traded constituents were in the red in the main market this week, which saw Qatar Electricity and Water register QR400.66mn net profit in Q1, 2023.

A close below 9,585 points would deepen the bearish tone and lead to 9,000 points, a technical analysis note of Kamco had said.

The local retail investors’ weakened net buying had its influence in the main market this week which saw Nakilat and Milaha report net profit of QR395.49mn and QR363mn respectively in Q1, 2023.

The foreign individuals’ lower net buying had its say in the main market this week, which saw a total of 0.13mn Masraf Al Rayan-sponsored exchange-traded fund QATR worth QR0.3mn trade across 15 deals.

The Islamic index was seen declining faster than the other indices in the main market this week which saw as many as 0.16mn Doha Bank-sponsored exchange-traded fund QETF valued at QR1.31mn change hands across 78 transactions.

The Gulf individuals continued to be net buyers but with lesser intensity this week which saw Vodafone Qatar’s net profit at QR133.39mn in Q1, 2023.

Trade turnover and volumes were on the decline in the main market this week, which saw QIIB and Ahlibank Qatar register Q1 net profit at QR315.92mn and QR204.6mn respectively.

Market capitalisation was seen eroding QR11.42bn or 1.94% to QR576.25bn on the back of large and midcap segments this week which saw the industrials and banking sectors together constitute more than 65% of the total trade volume in the main market.

The Total Return Index tanked 1.58%, the All Share Index by 1.56%, and the All Islamic Index by 1.79% this week, which saw no trading of sovereign bonds.

The telecom sector index plummeted 3.5%, industrials (3.15%), realty (2.17%) and banks and financial services (1.52%); while insurance gained 1.75%, transport (1.26%) and consumer goods and services (0.37%) this which saw no trading of treasury bills.

Major shakers in the main market included Mazaya Qatar, Mekdam Holding, Industries Qatar, Beema, Ooredoo, QNB, Masraf Al Rayan, Lesha Bank, Qatari German Medical Devices, Salam International Investment, Mannai Corporation, Qatar National Cement, Qamco, and Ezdan. In the venture market, Al Faleh Educational Holding saw its shares depreciate in value this week which saw Aamal bag QR45mn contract from the Ministry of Municipality.

Nevertheless, Qatar General Insurance and Reinsurance, Qatar Industrial Manufacturing, Commercial Bank, Qatar Cinema and Film Distribution, Baladna, Gulf Warehousing and Nakilat were among the gainers in the main market this week which saw United Development Company and Aamal Company report net profit of QR88mn and QR87.5mn respectively in Q1, 2023.

The Arab individual investors were net sellers to the tune of QR21.05mn against net buyers of QR11.16mn the week ended April 13.

The local retail investors' net buying declined considerably to QR51.6mn compared to QR94.07mn a week ago.

The foreign individuals’ net buying weakened perceptibly to QR3.89mn against QR5.36mn the previous week.

The Gulf retail investors’ net buying shrank noticeably to QR1.02mn compared to QR2.26mn the week ended April 13.

The Arab institutional investors’ net buying eased marginally to QR0.05mn against QR0.19mn a week ago.

However, the Gulf institutions’ net buying expanded markedly to QR24.34mn compared to QR12.6mn the previous week.

The domestic funds’ net profit booking fell substantially to QR28.5mn against QR76.09mn84mn the week ended April 13.

The foreign institutions’ net selling tanked significantly to QR31.36mn compared to QR49.56mn a week ago.

The main market witnessed 36% shrinkage in trade volumes to 440.78mn shares, 31% in value to QR1.32bn and 12% in deals to 60,357.