The Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) index gained 140.2 points, or 1.41%, during the week to close at 10,053.95. Market capitalisation increased by 1.17% to QR540.1bn versus QR533.9bn at the end of the previous week. Of the 44 listed companies, 31 ended the week higher, while nine fell and four remained unchanged. Islamic Holding Group (IHGS) was the best performing stock for the week with a gain of 6.6% on 166,332 shares traded. On the other hand, Qatar General Insurance & Reinsurance Co (QGRI) was the worst performing stock with a decline of 4.4% on 2.1mn shares traded.
Ezdan Holding Group (ERES), Masraf Al Rayan (MARK) and Ooredoo (ORDS) were the primary contributors to the weekly index gain. ERES was the biggest contributor to the index’s weekly increase, adding 35.0 points to the index. MARK was the second biggest contributor to the gains, adding 27.2 points to the index. Moreover, ORDS contributed 23.1 points to the index. On the other hand, Qatari Investors Group (QIGD) deleted 5.7 points from the index.
Trading value during the week decreased by 13.1% to reach QR1.3bn versus QR1.5bn in the prior week. The banks and financial services sector led the trading value during the week, accounting for 26.2% of the total trading value. The industrial sector was the second biggest contributor to the overall trading value, accounting for 18.7% of the total trading value. Vodafone Qatar (VFQS) was the top value traded stock during the week with total traded value of QR154.3mn.
Trading volume decreased by 28.8% to reach 46.6mn shares versus 65.4mn in the prior week. The number of transactions decreased by 3.4% to reach 16,042 transactions versus 16,608 in the prior week. The telecoms sector led the trading volume, accounting for 36.2%, followed by the real estate sector, which accounted for 19.3% of the overall trading volume. VFQS was the top volume traded stock during the week with total traded volume of 16.4mn shares.
Foreign institutions remained bullish during the week with net buying of QR162.1mn versus net buying of QR3.9mn in the prior week. Qatari institutions remained bearish with net selling of QR9.8mn versus net selling of QR2.5mn the week before. Foreign retail investors remained bullish for the week with net buying of QR9.2mn versus net buying of QR21.1mn in the prior week. Qatari retail investors remained bearish with net selling of QR161.5mn versus net selling of QR22.6mn the week before.
In 2016 year-to-date, foreign institutions bought (on a net basis) $1.7bn worth of Qatari equities.
The index had a 1.41% gain against last week’s closing, and closed at 10,053.95. We called the uptick in our last week’s technical comment and this uptick could continue next week. An increase in traded volumes would support the bullish outlook for the coming weeks. Our expected support level remains at 9,750; resistance is at the 11,500 level.
Candlestick chart – A candlestick chart is a price chart that displays the high, low, open, and close for a security. The ‘body’ of the chart is portion between the open and close price, while the high and low intraday movements form the ‘shadow’. The candlestick may represent any time frame. We use a one-day candlestick chart (every candlestick represents one trading day) in our analysis.
Doji candlestick pattern – A Doji candlestick is formed when a security’s open and close are practically equal. The pattern indicates indecisiveness, and based on preceding price actions and future confirmation, may indicate a bullish or bearish trend reversal.
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