Qatar shares extend gains to inch near 8,300 mark

By Santhosh V PerumalBusiness Reporter

Ahead of the Eid holidays to start tomorrow, local retail and institutional investors were instrumental in lifting the QE’s 20-stock measure by a robust 1.45% or 119 points to 8,290

The Qatar Exchange extended the bull-run to the second day yesterday as its benchmark index gained a robust 1.45% and its key index inched near the 8,300 mark.Ahead of the Eid holidays to start tomorrow, local retail and institutional investors were mainly instrumental in lifting the QE’s 20-stock measure by 119 points to 8,290. The market is, however, down 4.51% year-to-date.The insurance index gained the maximum of 2.58%, followed by banks (1.70%), services (1.26%) and industry (0.61%).Masraf Al Rayan, Doha Bank, QNB, Commercialbank, Qatar Islamic Bank, National Leasing, Industries Qatar (IQ) and Barwa were among the prime gainers.Market capitalisation surged 1.29% or about QR6bn to QR436bn with large, micro, mid and small cap equities strengthening 1.49%, 1.23%, 1.12% and 1% respectively.Of the 42 stocks, 32 advanced, while only four declined, two were unchanged and four were not traded.Qatari individual investors turned bullish as they were net buyers to the tune of 2.50% against net sellers of 3.80% the previous trading day.A much higher 43.89% of them purchased equities compared to 34.91% last Thursday although a higher 41.39% sold against 38.71%.Domestic institutions also turned bullish as they were net buyers to the extent of 1.56% compared with net sellers of 13.12% the previous day.A much higher 30.85% of them bought equities against 14.95% last Thursday although a marginally higher 29.29% of them sold compared to 28.07%.Non-Qatari retail investors were profit-takers as they were net sellers to the tune of 5.43% against net buyers of 0.18% the previous day.A marginally lower 11.49% of them were into buying compared to 12.09% last Thursday while a higher 16.92% were into offloading against 11.91%.Foreign institutions continued to be bullish but with lesser intensity as their net buying plunged to 1.38% from 16.75% the previous day.A much lower 13.77% of them were into buying compared to 38.06% last Thursday and a lower 12.39% were into selling against 21.31%.Total trading volume rose 28% to 6.93mn equities and value by 9% to QR255.76mn whereas deals shrank 44% to 2,328.The insurance sector’s trading volume jumped more than six-fold to 0.02mn shares and value more than doubled to QR3.80mn on a 69% jump in transactions to 81.The services sector’s trading volume soared 29% to 3.29mn shares, value by 37% to QR89.36mn and deals by 32% to 2,328.Banks’ trading volume gained 29% to 2.63mn equities and value by 1% to QR100.09mn whereas transactions were down 9% to 1,475.The industrial sector’s trading volume was up 11% to 0.88mn shares, while value lost 9% to QR62.51mn. Deals rose 6% to 786.Actively traded stocks (in terms of volume) were Masraf Al Rayan (1.89mn shares); Mawashi (1.57mn); Barwa (665,123); IQ (440,638) and United Development Company (363,649).NBK Capital sees robust profit growth for QEWCNBK Capital has put a ‘buy’ rating on Qatar Electricity and Water Co and a fair value of QR170 after the utility reported strong first-half financials. QEWC’s long-term purchase agreements with Kharamaa gives it a stable revenue stream, as the company is not exposed to fluctuations in demand for electricity and water, NBK Capital said. “QEWC is a capacity provider and does not engage with the end-user, which makes the company a low-risk business. Moreover, QEWC has been shielded from regional unrest, and operations remain normal,” NBK Capital said. It raised FY2011 revenue forecast for QEWC by 9.5% to QR4.7bn-37.9% ahead of FY2010; and is forecasting a 27% growth in FY2011 net profit to QR1.5bn. With the completion of major projects in 2011 and a stronger outlook, NBK Capital expects a QR7 dividend payout for FY2011.