The Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) index gained 231.96 points, or 2.17% during the week to close at 10,941.43. Market capitalisation increased by 1.67% to QR585.9bn versus QR576.3bn at the end of the previous week. Of the 44 listed companies, 28 ended the week higher, while 15 fell and one remained unchanged. Doha Bank (DHBK) was the best performing stock for the week with a gain of 6.5% on 1.3mn shares traded. On the other hand, Qatar General Insurance and Reinsurance Co (QGRI) was the worst performing stock with a decline of 8.3% on 82.6k shares traded.
Masraf Al Rayan (MARK), Ezdan Holding (ERES) and Barwa Real Estate (BRES) were the primary contributors to the weekly index decline. MARK was the biggest contributor, adding 53.2 points to the index. ERES was the second biggest contributor to the gains, adding 49.9 points to the index. Moreover, BRES added 23.1 points to the index. On the other hand, Qatar Navigation (QNNS) deleted 4.1 points.
Trading value during the week increased by 49.51% to reach QR1.61bn versus QR1.08bn in the prior week. The banks and financial services sector led the trading value during the week, accounting for 35.9% of the total trading value. The industrials sector was the second biggest contributor, accounting for 22.5% of the total trading value. QNB Group (QNBK) was the top value traded stock during the week with total traded value of QR176.6mn.
Trading volume increased by 32.07% to reach 49.3mn shares versus 37.3mn in the prior week. The number of transactions rose by 18.00% to reach 19,553 versus 16,570 in the prior week. The real estate sector led the trading volume, accounting for 27.86%, followed by the banks and financial services sector, which accounted for 26.73% of the overall trading volume. Ezdan Holding (ERES) was the top volume traded stock during the week with total traded volume of 7.0mn shares.
Foreign institutions remained bullish during the week with net buying of QR60.1mn versus net buying of QR135.1mn in the prior week. Qatari institutions remained bullish with net buying of QR144.5mn versus net buying of QR40.5mn the week before. Foreign retail investors remained bearish for the week with net selling of QR12.7mn versus net selling of QR6.2mn in the prior week. Qatari retail investors remained bearish with net selling of QR191.9mn versus net selling of QR169.5mn the week before.
In 2017 year-to-date, foreign institutions bought (on a net basis) $78.6mn worth of Qatari equities.
The index closed in the green and gained 2.17% in the past week. As we have mentioned in previously published opinion, the break above the 21SMA was positive and bullish on the general index; this uptick may continue further. We elevate our expected support level to 10,500 and keep the resistance 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.
QNB
