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Market EyeTracking weaker oil prices, the Qatar Stock Exchange Wednesday fell more than 41 points and its key barometer retreated below 11,200 levels as foreign funds hurriedly squared off their position.The telecom, industrials and real estate counters witnessed higher than average selling pressure as the 20-stock Qatar Index shed 0.37% to 11,142.37 points, although it touched an intraday high of 11,212 points.The foreign individuals were seen increasingly net sellers in the main market, whose year-to-date gains truncated to 5.4%.About 61% of the traded constituents were in the red in the main bourse, whose capitalisation eroded QR3.49bn or 0.52% to QR664.85bn, mainly on small and microcap segments.However, the Gulf institutions were seen net buyers in the main market, which saw as many as 3,122 exchange traded funds (sponsored by AlRayan Bank and Doha Bank) valued at QR7,490 trade across seven deals.The local retail investors were increasingly bullish in the main bourse, whose trade turnover and volumes were on the rise.The Islamic index was seen declining slower than the other indices of the main market, which saw no trading of treasury bills.The Arab individuals were increasingly net buyers in the main bourse, which saw no trading of sovereign bonds.The Total Return Index shed 0.37%, the All Share Index by 0.4% and the All Islamic Index by 0.27% in the main market.The telecom sector declined 0.71%, industrials (0.64%), realty (0.48%), banks and financial services (0.37%), insurance (0.36%) and transport (0.26%); while consumer goods and services was up 0.05%.Major shakers in the main market included Estithmar Holding, Commercial Bank, Al Mahhar Holding, Meeza, Mazaya Qatar, QNB, Baladna, Industries Qatar, Ezdan, Ooredoo, Vodafone Qatar and Milaha.In the junior bourse, Techno Q saw its shares depreciate in value.Nevertheless, Mannai Corporation, Qatar Islamic Bank, QIIB, Inma Holding and Widam Food were among the gainers in the main market.The foreign institutions turned net sellers to the tune of QR43.06mn compared with net buyers of QR10.76mn the previous day.The foreign retail investors’ net profit booking increased marginally to QR0.66mn against QR0.41mn on September 2.However, the Gulf institutions were net buyers to the extent of QR11.81mn compared with net sellers of QR6.07mn on Tuesday.The local retail investors’ net buying strengthened significantly to QR11.65mn against QR2.15mn the previous day.The Arab individual investors’ net buying expanded substantially to QR10.86mn compared to QR3.91mn on September 2.The domestic funds turned net buyers to the tune of QR8.63mn against net profit takers of QR10.75mn on Tuesday.The Gulf individual investors’ net buying increased marginally to QR0.77mn compared to QR0.4mn the previous day.The Arab institutions had no major net exposure for the third straight session.The main market saw a 57% jump in trade volumes to 134.27mn shares and 54% in value to QR401.92mn on more than doubled deals to 30,365.In the venture market, a total of 0.69mn equities valued at QR1.87mn changed hands across 107 transactions.

Market Eye The Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) Tuesday gained eight points as the telecom, real estate and banking counters witnessed higher than average demand. The foreign funds were seen increasingly net buyers as the 20-stock Qatar Index was up 0.07% to 11,183.57 points, although it touched an intraday high of 11,204 points. The Arab individuals were seen bullish in the main market, whose year-to-date gains improved to 5.79%. The local retail investors turned net buyers in the main bourse, whose capitalisation added QR1bn or 0.15 to QR668.34bn, mainly on microcap segments. The Gulf individuals continued to be net buyers but with lesser intensity in the main market, which saw as many as 0.01mn exchange traded funds (sponsored by AlRayan Bank and Doha Bank) valued at QR0.05mn trade across 12 deals. The domestic institutions turned net sellers in the main bourse, whose trade turnover and volumes were on the decline. The Islamic index was seen declining vis-à-vis gains in the other indices of the main market, which saw no trading of treasury bills. The Gulf institutions were increasingly into net profit booking in the main bourse, which saw no trading of sovereign bonds. The Total Return Index was up 0.07% and the All Share Index by 0.09%; while the All Islamic Index fell 0.02% in the main market. The telecom sector index gained 0.26%, realty (0.24%), banks and financial services (0.2%) and insurance (0.05%); while consumer goods and services declined 0.63%, transport (0.02%) and industrials (0.01%). Major movers in the main bourse included Qatar Cinema and Film Distribution, Gulf International Services, Qamco, Ezdan, Qatar Insurance, Estithmar Holding and Nakilat. Nevertheless, Qatar General Insurance and Reinsurance, QLM, Ahlibank Qatar, Woqod, Doha Bank, Meeza and Industries Qatar were among the shakers in the main bourse. In the venture market, Techno Q saw its shares depreciate in value. The foreign institutions’ net buying increased noticeably to QR10.76mn compared to QR2.07mn the previous day. The Arab individual investors turned net buyers to the tune of QR3.91mn against net sellers of QR1.76mn on Monday. The local retail investors were net buyers to the extent of QR2.15mn compared with net sellers of QR3.2mn on September 1. However, the domestic funds turned net sellers to the tune of QR10.75mn against net buyers of QR1.21mn the previous day. The Gulf institutions’ net profit booking strengthened markedly to QR6.07mn compared to QR1.26mn on Monday. The foreign retail investors were net sellers to the extent of QR0.41mn against net buyers of QR5.64mn on September 1. The Gulf individual investors’ net buying weakened perceptibly to QR0.4mn compared QR1.45mn the previous day. The Arab institutions had no major net exposure for the second straight session. The main market saw a 19% slump in trade volumes to 85.68mn shares and 6% in value to QR260.95mn but on 1% jump in deals to 14,534. In the venture market, a total of 0.21mn equities valued at QR0.56mn changed hands across 41 transactions.

China’s stock rally is set to get a boost from small investors, stoking hopes that their massive savings will fuel the next leg of the market’s blistering advance.The benchmark CSI 300 Index has been on a tear, rising 10% in August to be one of the world’s best performing equity gauges amid a liquidity driven surge. While hedge funds have been active in the market, analysts say the nation’s mom and pop investors are still in the early stages of what could be a major rotation into stocks and equity funds.China’s household deposits fell 0.7% from a record high in June to 160.9tn yuan ($23tn) in July, suggesting investors are putting their money to work. JPMorgan Chase & Co predicts around $350bn of additional savings could flow into the equity market between July 2025 and the end of next year, propelling share prices more than 20% higher.“Cash makes bull markets, and deposits shifting to stocks is going to be an important driver of this rally,” said Xu Dawei, a fund manager at Jintong Private Fund Management in Beijing. “It’s already begun and there’s no turning back.” The glut of savings is one factor pushing Wall Street banks to hike price targets for China’s major stock gauges and fuelling hopes that China’s rally which has so far defied lacklustre earnings and persistent questions about the health of the economy has further to go.Goldman Sachs Group Inc strategists pointed to excess household savings when upgrading their target for the CSI 300, with the bank now predicting a roughly 10% rise over the next 12 months. HSBC Holdings Plc cited the savings pool as potentially a “very positive catalyst” when lifting its targets for the country’s two biggest indexes.Darwin Mao, a 28-year-old tech employee in Beijing, has been eyeing a shift to the stock market since last September.Back then, a stimulus blitz by China’s central bank sent stocks zooming higher, bringing an end to a years-long selloff fuelled by fears about the economy. The CSI 300 jumped around 25% in a week, leading to a feeding frenzy among local investors. It wasn’t until this August that the index beat the highs set back then.“Stocks rallied so fast that I didn’t have time to get in,” said Mao, adding that this time he was keen not to miss out. “I took the opportunity to invest some of my spare money at the end of July and I’ve been increasing my holdings. I believe the rally will extend until the end of this year.”The CSI 300 has risen in nine of the past 10 weeks, taking its gain from this year’s low in early April to 25%. Investors have expressed confidence that authorities will keep sentiment supported before a September 3 military parade, which is set to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. China has a history of propping up its stock market ahead of major political events to project an image of stability.Some strategists, including those at Morgan Stanley, have flagged signs the market is overheating, with some technical indicators flashing overbought signals. In one example, shares of Cambricon Technologies Corp more than doubled in August, prompting the AI chip designer to warn investors that its stock price may no longer reflect fundamentals. That sent the stock tumbling on Friday.So far, the shift from savings to stocks is a trickle: The roughly 2.1tn yuan jump in non-financial deposits a proxy for liquidity in stocks, funds and trust accounts in July was just the highest since February, and not much above the seasonal average over the past decade.But analysts see the shift to equities getting a boost from a “TINA” environment for stocks, shorthand for “there is no alternative.”Bond yields are around historic lows, while real estate once the go to investment for Chinese citizens wanting to get rich hasn’t recovered from its yearslong slump. One-year fixed deposits at China’s largest banks now pay just 0.95% per year, the lowest on record.“There is a shortage of investable assets in China,” said Winnie Wu, chief China strategist at BofA Securities. “If the stock market has a clear money making effect, people will be willing to allocate more funds.”A key question is how well Chinese officials can manage market swings. Regulators and local investors have been scarred by previous periods of boom and bust, most dramatically a bubble a decade ago that wiped out more than $2tn of market value when it burst.Local broker Sinolink Securities Co has hiked margin requirements for stock traders, while some onshore mutual funds have limited the size of new orders. It is unclear whether these moves were triggered by regulatory guidance, but it’s common for Chinese officials to issue behind the scenes instructions to brokers and funds during periods of wild stock swings.Chinese media has also cautioned investors against speculation.Local investors clearly have plenty of cash to put to work, but fund managers and analysts say it will be steady rises rather than wild swings that will encourage them to stick around this time.“It’s important this time to have a slow bull market,” said Wu Xianfeng, a fund manager at Shenzhen Longteng Assets Management Co “That is the only way a shift from deposits to stocks can be sustainable.”