The Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) index increased 172.56 points, or 1.74%, during the trading week to close at 10,110.84. Market capitalisation increased by 1.59% to QR540.5bn versus QR532.1bn at the end of the previous week. Of the 44 listed companies, 25 ended the week higher, while 16 fell and three remained unchanged. Zad Holding (ZHCD) was the best performing stock for the week with a gain of 8.9% on only 2,258 shares traded. On the other hand, Gulf International Services (GISS) was the worst performing stock with a decline of 4.1% on 770,136 shares traded.
Industries Qatar (IQCD), Ezdan Holding (ERES) and Ooredoo (ORDS) were the primary contributors to the weekly index increase. IQCD was the biggest contributor to, adding 43.0 points to the index. ERES was the second biggest contributor to the increase, adding 29.7 points to the index. Moreover, ORDS added 26.6 points to the index. On the other hand, GISS erased 5.6 points.
Trading value during the week decreased by 7.88% to reach QR1.20bn versus QR1.30bn in the prior week. The banks and financial services sector led the trading value during the week, accounting for 27.16% of the total trading value. The Industrials sector was the second biggest contributor to the overall trading value, accounting for 17.56% of the total. IQCD was the top value traded stock during the week with total traded value of QR149.3mn.
Trading volume decreased by 12.89% to reach 44.80mn shares versus 51.42mn in the prior week. The number of transactions decreased by 6.51% to reach 14,974 versus 16,016 transactions in the prior week. The telecoms sector led the trading volume, accounting for 35.62%, followed by the banks and financial services sector which accounted for 24.02% of the overall trading volume. Vodafone Qatar (VFQS) was the top volume traded stock during the week with total traded volume of 15.7mn shares. 
Foreign institutions remained bearish with net selling of QR31.1mn versus net selling of QR62.1mn in the prior week. Qatari institutions remained bullish with net buying of QR95.4mn versus net buying of QR111.8mn the week before. Foreign retail investors remained bearish with net selling of QR5.8mn versus net selling of QR1.2mn in the prior week. Qatari retail investors remained bearish with net selling of QR58.5mn versus net selling of QR48.5mn the week before. 
In 2017 year-to-date, foreign institutions bought (on a net basis) $769.8mn worth of equities. 
The index managed to gain some ground after the four-week correction, adding 1.74% from last weeks close to reach 10,110.84 points. The current weekly uptick has resulted in creating a bullish engulfing candlestick; that is a strong technical signal added to the fact that the index closed above the 10,000 psychological level. We reiterate our support level at the 9,700 level and 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.