With only three days of trading, the Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) index ended the week gaining 15.07 points, or 0.13%, to close at 11,433.75. Market capitalisation remained unchanged at QR602.4bn compared to the end of the previous week. Of the 43 listed companies, 21 ended the week higher, while 20 fell. Gulf International Services (GISS) was the best performing stock for the week, with a gain of 5.6% on 1,297,676 shares traded. On the other hand, Gulf Warehousing Co (GWCS) was the worst performing with a decline of 5.5% on only 19,859 shares traded.
Ezdan Holding Group (ERES), GISS and Qatar Insurance Co (QATI) were the primary contributors to the weekly index gain. ERES led the pack, adding 23.1 points to the index. GISS added 17.7 points to the index, while QATI contributed 7.1 points. On the other hand, Industries Qatar (IQCD) contributed negatively to the Index, erasing 21.0 points.
Trading value during the shortened week decreased by 51.2% to reach QR644.5mn vs QR1.32bn in the prior week. The banks and financial services sector led the trading value during the week, accounting for 34.29% of the total. The industrials sector was the second biggest contributor to the overall trading value, accounting for 30.05% of the total. GISS was the top value traded stock during the week with total traded value of QR79.3mn.
Trading volume decreased by 56.2% to reach 14.2mn shares vs 32.5mn in the prior week. The number of transactions decreased by 52.5% to reach 9,283 versus 19,537 in the prior week. The real estate sector led the trading volume, accounting for 28.2%, followed by the banks and financial services sector, which accounted for 24.4% of the overall trading volume. ERES was the top volume traded stock during the week with total traded volume of 2.3mn shares.
Foreign institutions remained bearish during the week with net selling of QR38.8mn vs net selling of QR185.2mn in the prior week. Qatari institutions turned bullish with net buying of QR54.1mn vs net selling of QR19.7mn the week before. Foreign retail investors turned bearish for the week with net selling of QR708.9k vs net buying of QR66.8mn in the prior week. Qatari retail investors turned bearish with net selling of QR14.5mn vs net buying of QR138.0mn the week before.
In 2015 year-to-date, foreign institutions bought (on a net basis) $620mn worth of Qatari equities.
