Weekly Market Report
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The Qatar Exchange (QE) Index gained 92.06 points, or 0.90%, during the week, to close at 10,375.06 points. Market capitalisation increased by 0.33% to reach QR555bn as compared to QR553.2bn at the end of the previous week. Of the 42 listed companies, 25 companies ended the week higher while 14 fell and 3 remained unchanged. Vodafone Qatar (VFQS) was the best performing stock with a gain of 5.11%; the stock is up 32.93% year-to-date (YTD). Al Ahli Bank (ABQK) was the worst performing stock with a decline of 4.55%; the stock is still up 7.14% YTD.
Masraf Al Rayan (MARK) was the biggest contributor to the QE Index’s weekly gain. The stock contributed 31.5 points to the index’s weekly gain; MARK is up 3.13% week-over-week (WoW). Qatar Gas Transport Company or Nakilat (QGTS) was the second biggest contributor adding 18.2 points; the stock gained 3.94% WoW.
On the other hand, Ooredoo (ORDS) dragged the index down by 9.8 points WoW. During the week Ooredoo raised $1.25bn through sukuk. According to the management, the proceeds from this issue will be used for general corporate purposes such as refinancing of existing debt. We note that the stock has been a significant outperformer this year (up 31.15% YTD).
Trading value during the week decreased by 11.79% to reach QR2.3bn vs. QR2.6bn in the prior week. The Banks and Financial Services led the trading value during the week, accounting for 28.3% of the total equity trading value.
Trading volume declined by 1.94% to reach 80.4mn shares vs. 82.0mn shares in the prior week. The number of transactions fell by 9.40% to reach 31,836 transactions versus 35,140 transactions in the prior week. The Real Estate sector led the trading volume, accounting for 32.32% of the total.
Foreign institutions turned bearish for the week with net selling of QR100.1mn versus net buying of QR195.0mn in the prior week. Qatari institutions turned bullish with net buying of QR98.2mn vs net selling of QR132.7mn the week before. Foreign retail investors turned bearish for the week with net selling of QR29.8mn vs net buying of QR22.6mn in the prior week. Qatari retailer investors turned bullish with net buying of QR31.1mn vs net selling of QR85.2mn the week before.
The GCC markets were mixed during the week. Dubai’s benchmark index was the top performer, surging by 1.9% WoW; it is up 81.6% YTD. On the other hand, the Kuwait benchmark index was down 0.7% WoW.