The Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) Index lost 7.87 points, or 0.07% during the week to close at 10,709.47. Market capitalisation increased by 0.09% to QR576.3bn versus QR575.8bn at the end of the previous week. Of the 44 listed companies, 25 ended the week higher, while 17 fell and two remained unchanged. Alijarah Holding Co (NLCS) was the best performing stock for the week with a gain of 5.6% on 3.6mn shares traded. On the other hand, Mazaya Qatar (MRDS) was the worst performing stock with a decline of 2.6% on 4.0mn shares traded.
Ezdan Holding (ERES), Milaha (QNNS) and Masraf Al Rayan (MARK) were the primary contributors to the weekly index decline. ERES was the biggest contributor, erasing 22.8 points from the index. QNNS was the second biggest contributor to the losses, shaving off 6.5 points from the index. Moreover, MARK deleted 6.2 points from the index. On the other hand, QNB Group (QNBK) added 11.0 points to the index.
Trading value during the week decreased by 4.75% to reach QR1.08bn versus QR1.13bn in the prior week. The banks and financial services sector led the trading value during the week, accounting for 30.52% of the total trading value. The industrials sector was the second biggest contributor to the overall trading value, accounting for 24.90% of the total. Industries Qatar (IQCD) was the top value traded stock during the week with total traded value of QR165.9mn.
Trading volume decreased by 4.65% to reach 37.3mn shares versus 39.2mn in the prior week. The number of transactions rose by 10.68% to reach 16,570 versus 14,971 in the prior week. The banks and financial services sector led the trading volume, accounting for 30.81%, followed by the real estate sector, which accounted for 27.57% of the overall trading volume. Vodafone Qatar (VFQS) was the top volume traded stock during the week with total traded volume of 4.0mn shares.
Foreign institutions remained bullish during the week with net buying of QR135.1mn versus net buying of QR175.7mn in the prior week. Qatari institutions remained bullish with net buying of QR40.5mn versus net buying of QR49.1mn the week before. Foreign retail investors remained bearish for the week with net selling of QR6.2mn versus net selling of QR19.6mn in the prior week. Qatari retail investors remained bearish with net selling of QR169.5mn versus net selling of QR205.2mn the week before.
In 2017 year-to-date, foreign institutions bought (on a net basis) $60.4mn worth of Qatari equities.
The QSE index fell 0.07% during the week to a level of 10,709.47. On the weekly chart, there has been a doji formation which suggests retracement. However, if the index holds 10,600 level on a weekly basis, it may stand a chance to go higher. We still think that the index has a strong support at 10,500 level while 11,500 will still act as a strong resistance.
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.
QNB
