Strong selling, particularly in telecom, industrials, insurance and banking counters led the 20-stock Qatar Index 2.67% this week which saw Qatar Electricity and Water Company (QEWC) report QR1.62bn net profit in 2017.
More than 74% of the traded scrips were in the red this week which saw Commercial Bank register net profit of QR603.65mn in 2017.
Islamic stocks were seen declining faster than the other indices this week which saw HE Minister of Economy and Commerce Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohamed al-Thani tell the US that Qatar has weathered the blockade and enhanced its economic competitiveness, thus positioning it as a highly attractive destination for investments from Washington.
Selling pressure was seen more within large cap segment this week which saw PricewaterhouseCoopers forecast Qatar’s gross domestic product expansion this year at 3.1% amidst rising inflation.
Domestic funds’ substantially weakened buying interests also played a role in in the overall bearish sentiments this week which saw Qatar's industrial producers' earnings display robust performance year-on-year in December 2017.
However, local retail investors and non-Qatari individuals turned bullish this week which saw no trading of government bonds and treasury bills.
The telecom index tanked 4.19%, industrials (3.49%), insurance (3.23%), banks and financial services (2.69%), real estate (1.46%) and consumer goods (0.99%); while transport soared 2.56% this week.
The banking, real estate and industrials counters together accounted for about 82% of total trading volume this week which saw Commercial Bank say it has “sufficient potential to grow significantly in Qatar” over the next few years.
The banks and financial services sector accounted for 37% of the total volume, realty (23%), industrials (22%), telecom (10%), consumer goods (4%), transport (3%) and insurance (1%) this week.
The banks and financial services’ share in total trade turnover was 42%, industrials (22%), real estate (17%), consumer goods (8%), telecom (6%), transport (3%) and insurance (3%) this week.
Major losers included Ooredoo, Vodafone Qatar, Industries Qatar, QNB, Qatar Islamic Bank, Qatar Insurance, QIIB, Masraf Al Rayan, Salam International Investment, QEWC, Gulf International Services, Mazaya Qatar, Ezdan, Barwa and Gulf Warehousing; whereas Milaha, Nakilat, Qatar National Cement, Mesaieed Petrochemical Holding, Al Khaliji, Qatar Oman Investment and Doha Insurance were among the gainers this week.
Non-Qatari funds turned net sellers to the tune of QR93.03mn compared with net buyers of QR13.28mn the week ended January 25.
Domestic institutions’ net buying weakened considerably to QR39.44mn against QR114.65mn the previous week.
However, local retail investors turned net buyers to the extent of QR46.51mn compared with net sellers of QR126.27mn a week ago.
Non-Qatari individuals were also net buyers to the tune of QR7.07mn against net profit takers of QR1.66mn the previous week.
Total trade volume fell 38% to 37.29mn shares, value by 36% to QR969.05mn and transactions by 23% to 16,903.
The consumer goods sector reported 58% plunge in trade volume to 1.41mn equities, 67% in value to QR82.02mn and 64% in deals to 1,206.
The banks and financial services sector’s trade volume plummeted 54% to 13.71mn stocks, value by 41% to QR402.75mn and transactions by 29% to 5,697.
The market witnessed 42% shrinkage in the transport sector’s trade volume to 1.23mn shares, 45% in value to QR31.73mn and 17% in deals to 902.
The insurance sector’s trade volume tanked 34% to 0.43mn equities, value by 47% to QR18.49mn and transactions by 24% to 450.
There was 17% decline in the real estate sector’s trade to 8.68mn stocks, 11% in value to QR162.7mn and 6% in deals to 3,160.
The industrials sector’s trade volume shrank 17% to 8.06mn shares and value by 4% to QR214.56mn, whereas transactions were up 4% to 4,109.
The telecom sector saw 13% slump in trade volume to 3.77mn equities, 32% in value to QR56.81mn and 14% in deals to 1,379.
QSE
The Qatar Stock Exchange witnessed heavy profit booking, especially by foreign institutions, leading to a huge 252 points plunge this week.
