tag

The Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) general index dropped 43.36 points, or 0.39%, to 11,033 points at the start of trading on Thursday, compared with the previous session's close. Losses were recorded across four sectors: The Telecoms and the Banks and Financial Services sectors both declined by (-0.64%), Consumer Goods and Services (-0.24%), and Industrials (-0.14%). In contrast, gains were recorded in Insurance (+0.23%), Transportation (+0.21%), and Real Estate (+0.05%). As of 10:00 am, QSE recorded 2,480 transactions worth QR 31.144 million, distributed to 10.895 million shares.

Market Eye The foreign funds Wednesday hurriedly squared off their position in the Qatar Stock Exchange, which closed in the negative for the third straight session. The transport, insurance, industrials, consumer goods and real estate counters witnessed higher than average selling pressure as the 20-stock Qatar Index shed more than 30 points or 0.27% to 11,077.07 points, although it touched an intraday high of 11,119 points. The Arab individuals were increasingly net profit takers in the main market, whose year-to-date gains truncated further to 4.79%. About 79% of the traded constituents were in the red in the main bourse, whose capitalisation melted QR2.02bn or 0.37% to QR661.33bn, mainly on small and microcap segments. The foreign retail investors were seen increasingly net sellers in the main market, which saw as many as 2,642 exchange traded funds (sponsored by AlRayan Bank and Doha Bank) valued at QR0.02mn trade across six deals. However, the domestic funds were increasingly bullish in the main bourse, whose trade turnover and volumes were on the decline. The Islamic index was seen declining slower than the other indices of the main market, which saw no trading of treasury bills. The local retail investors were increasingly net buyers in the main bourse, which saw no trading of sovereign bonds. The Total Return Index shrank 0.27%, the All Share Index by 0.31% and the All Islamic Index by 0.14% in the main market. The transport sector index tanked 1.84%, insurance (0.73%), industrials (0.58%), consumer goods and services (0.41%), real estate (0.38%) and banks and financial services (0.1%); while telecom gained 1.24%. Major shakers in the main market include Qatar General Insurance and Reinsurance, QLM, Milaha, Nakilat, Gulf Warehousing Company, Commercial Bank, Salam International Investment, Qatar Electricity and Water, and Mazaya Qatar. In the juniour bourse, Techno Q saw its shares depreciate in value. Nevertheless, Ooredoo, QIIB, Qatar Islamic Bank, Ahlibank Qatar and Widam Food were among the gainers in the main market. The foreign institutions’ net selling expanded substantially to QR35.67mn compared to QR6.14mn the previous day. The Arab retail investors’ net selling strengthened noticeably to QR8.41mn against QR3.69mn on September 9. The foreign individuals’ net profit booking increased marginally to QR2.99mn compared to QR2.51mn on Tuesday. However, the domestic institutions’ net buying grew drastically to QR22.07mn against QR0.64mn the previous day. The local individual investors’ net buying rose perceptibly to QR18.36mn compared to QR15.44mn on September 9. The Gulf institutions turned net buyers to the tune of QR5.78mn against net profit takers of QR3.78mn on Tuesday. The Gulf individual investors’ net buying increased marginally to QR0.84mn compared to QR0.05mn the previous day. The Arab institutions were net buyers to the extent of QR0.05mn against no major net exposure for the last seven days. The main market saw 18% contraction in trade volumes to 101.23mn shares, 10% in value to QR354.14mn and 21% in deals to 19,895. In the venture market, a total of 0.5mn equities valued at QR1.31mn changed hands across 60 transactions.

Saudi Arabia's Industrial Production Index (IPI) for July 2025 recorded an increase of 6.5 percent compared to the same month of the previous year (July 2024).According to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), citing the Saudi General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT), the sub-index for mining and quarrying, the largest component of the IPI, rose by 6.5 percent year-on-year, while the manufacturing sector index grew by 7 percent.The sub-index for electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply increased by 0.9 percent, while the sub-index for water supply, sewage, waste management, and remediation activities rose by 8.5 percent compared to July 2024.The data also showed that oil-related activities grew by 7.8 percent, while non-oil activities recorded a 3.5 percent increase during the same period.

Kuwait Bourse closed trading on Tuesday as the All Share Index gained 72.42 points to reach 8,712.18 points, an increase of 0.84 percent.As many as 455 million shares valued at KWD 116.9 million (roughly USD 356.5 million) were traded via 27,306 transactions.The Main Market Index went up by 40.42 points to reach 7,881.67 points, up by 0.52 percent, through 223.18 million shares done via 14,110 transactions valued at KWD 39.9 million (roughly USD 121.6 million).The Premier Market Index gained 83.99 points to reach 9,349.85 points, up by 0.91 percent, through 231.9 million shares done via 13,196 transactions valued at KWD 77 million (roughly USD 234.8 million).Meanwhile, the bourse Main 50 Index went up by 71.06 points to reach 8,076.77 points, up by 0.89 percent, through stock volume of 177 million shares done in 8,905 deals at a value of KWD 31.9 million (roughly USD 97.2 million).

Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) index fell at the beginning of Tuesday's trading by 0.41%, losing 45.25 points to decline to the level of 11,079 points, compared to the previous session's close, under pressure from four sectors. QSE figures showed positive performance for the insurance sector by 0.48%, the telecommunications sector by 0.27% and the consumer goods and services sector by 0.03%. Meanwhile, the banking and financial services sector saw negative performance by 0.65%, the transportation sector by 0.43%, the real estate sector by 0.23% and the industrial sector by 0.11%. At 10:00 AM, QSE recorded 3,091 transactions worth QAR 42.631 million, distributed over 13.713 million shares.

The main indicators on the US Wall Street stock exchange ended today's trading session higher. The S&P 500 index rose by 0.21 percent to close at 6,495.15 points. The Nasdaq Composite index increased by 0.45 percent, reaching 21,798.70 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed by 0.25 percent to register 45,514.95 points.

Market Eye The Qatar Stock Exchange Monday fell about seven points on selling pressure especially in the consumer goods, insurance and banking sectors. The domestic funds were seen net sellers as the 20-stock Qatar Index was down 0.06% to 11,124.83 points, although it touched an intraday high of 11,164 points. The foreign institutions turned net profit takers in the main market, whose year-to-date gains truncated to 5.24%. The Gulf funds were seen bearish in the main bourse, whose capitalisation however added QR0.23bn or 0.03% to QR664.52bn, mainly on microcap segments. However, the local retail investors turned net buyers in the main market, which saw as many as 2,657 exchange traded funds (sponsored by AlRayan Bank and Doha Bank) valued at QR8,041 trade across nine deals. The Arab individuals were seen net buyers in the main bourse, whose trade turnover grew amidst lower volumes. The Islamic index was seen declining slower than the other indices of the main market, which saw no trading of treasury bills. The foreign retail investors were increasingly bullish in the main bourse, which saw no trading of sovereign bonds. The Total Return Index was down 0.06%, the All Share Index by 0.03% and the All Islamic Index by 0.05% in the main market. The consumer goods and services sector index shed 0.52%, insurance (0.14%), banks and financial services (0.1%) and telecom (0.04%); while transport gained 0.47%, industrials (0.11%) and real estate (0.07%). About 58% of the traded constituents were in the red in the main bourse with major shakers being Mannai Corporation, Al Mahhar Holding, QLM, Doha Bank, Estithmar Holding, Qatar Oman Investment, Qatar German Medical Devices, Baladna and Al Faleh Educational Holding. In the venture market, Techno Q saw its shares depreciate in value. Nevertheless, Meeza, Qatar General Insurance and Reinsurance, Ezdan, Milaha, QNB, Industries Qatar, Mesaieed Petrochemical Holding, Gulf Warehousing and Nakilat were among the gainers in the main market. The domestic institutions turned net sellers to the tune of QR22.44mn compared with net buyers of QR5.15mn on Sunday. The foreign institutions were net profit takers to the extent of QR5.31mn against net buyers of QR0.56mn the previous day. The Gulf institutions turned net sellers to the tune of QR1.18mn compared with net buyers of QR3.1mn on September 7. However, the local individual investors’ net buying expanded substantially to QR18.01mn against QR3.89mn on Sunday. The Arab retail investors turned net buyers to the extent of QR4.61mn compared with net sellers of QR12mn the previous day. The foreign individuals’ net buying strengthened perceptibly to QR3.67mn against QR2.13mn on September 7. The Gulf retail investors were net buyers to the tune of QR2.63mn compared with net sellers of QR2.84mn on Sunday. The Arab institutions had no major net exposure for the sixth straight session. The main market saw 17% contraction in trade volumes to 97.91mn shares and 11% in value to QR301.26mn but on 83% jump in deals to 23,238. In the venture market, a total of 0.57mn equities valued at QR1.54mn changed hands across 140 transactions.

The Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) general index edged up 0.03% at the start of Monday's session, adding 3.27 points to reach 11,134 compared to the previous close.The slight rise was driven by gains in four sectors: Industrials (+0.31%), Telecoms (+0.28%), Insurance (+0.02%), and Banks and Financial Services (+0.02%). In contrast, losses were recorded in Transportation (-0.39%), Consumer Goods and Services (-0.17%), and Real Estate (-0.03%). As of 10:00 am, trading volume stood at 14.203 million shares, with a turnover of QR 36.290 million across 2,600 transactions.

Market EyeThe Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) on Sunday opened the week on a stronger note with its key index gaining 32 points to cross the 11,100 levels on an across the board buying.The insurance, telecom, transport and consumer goods counters witnessed higher than average demand as the 20-stock Qatar Index rose 0.29% to 11,131.43 points, although it touched an intraday high of 11,153 points.The Gulf institutions were increasingly net buyers in the main market, whose year-to-date gains improved to 5.3%.The local retail investors’ higher net buying had its influence on the main bourse, whose capitalisation added QR1.63bn or 0.25% to QR664.29bn, mainly on microcap segments.The foreign funds turned net buyers in the main market, which saw as many as 0.01mn exchange traded funds (sponsored by AlRayan Bank and Doha Bank) valued at QR0.03mn trade across seven deals.The domestic funds continued to be net buyers but with lesser intensity in the main bourse, whose trade turnover and volumes were on the decline.The Islamic index was seen gaining faster than the other indices of the main market, which saw no trading of treasury bills.The foreign retail investors continued to bullish but with lesser vigour in the main bourse, which saw no trading of sovereign bonds.The Total Return Index rose 0.29%, the All Share Index by 0.21% and the All Islamic Index by 0.35% in the main market.The insurance sector index gained 0.88%, telecom (0.55%), transport (0.43%), consumer goods and services (0.34%), real estate (0.21%), industrials (0.19%) and banks and financial services (0.11%).About 60% of the traded constituents extended gains to investors in the main market with major movers being Estithmar Holding, Qatar General Insurance and Reinsurance, QLM, Baladna, Doha Bank, Ezdan, Mazaya Qatar, Ooredoo and Milaha.In the venture market, Techno Q saw its shares appreciate in value.Nevertheless, Qatar National Cement, Beema, Lesha Bank, Al Khaleej Takaful, Qatar Oman Investment, United Development Company and Vodafone Qatar were among the shakers in the main bourse.The Gulf institutions’ net buying increased noticeably to QR3.1mn compared to QR1.99mn the previous day.The local individual investors’ net buying expanded marginally to QR3.89mn against QR3.46mn on September 4.The foreign institutions turned net buyers to the tune of QR0.56mn compared with net sellers of QR26.72mn last Thursday.However, the Arab retail investors were net sellers to the extent of QR12mn against net buyers of QR5.24mn the previous day.The Gulf individuals turned net sellers to the tune of QR2.84mn compared with net buyers of QR2.92mn on September 4.The domestic institutions’ net buying weakened perceptibly to QR5.15mn against QR9.07mn last Thursday.The foreign retail investors’ net buying shrank markedly to QR2.13mn compared to QR4.04mn the previous day.The Arab institutions had no major net exposure for the fifth straight session.The main market saw a 16% contraction in trade volumes to 118.22mn shares, 36% in value to QR272.64mn and 37% in deals to 12,708.In the venture market, a total of 0.64mn equities valued at QR1.77mn changed hands across 137 transactions.

A spate of inflation data confronts US stock investors in the coming week as markets grapple with fresh uncertainty over tariffs and government bond yields, while equities hover at lofty valuations. The benchmark S&P 500 index closed at a record high on Thursday despite an uneven start to September, which has been the worst month for stocks on average over the past 35 years. Stocks were pulling back on Friday after the monthly US employment report showed job growth weakened in August."September has been known to see a wearing down of the sentiment picture," said Matthew Miskin, co-chief investment strategist at Manulife John Hancock Investments. At the same time, he said, "stocks aren't pricing in a lot of risks right now. They look fully valued."The monthly US consumer price index on Thursday highlights next week's economic releases, with investors focused on signals from the inflation data about the prospects for interest rate cuts and the fallout from tariffs on prices. Following Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's remarks late last month that flagged rising risks to employment, markets have been widely expecting the central bank to lower rates for the first time in nine months at its September 16-17 meeting.Investors bet on even more accelerated easing after the weak jobs report.Fed Funds futures were baking in a 90% chance of a quarter-point rate cut at the meeting, and a roughly 10% chance of a heftier half-percentage point cut, LSEG data as of Friday afternoon showed.Only a CPI number that comes in "egregiously higher" than estimates could dent assumptions of imminent monetary policy easing, said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B Riley Wealth.About 70 basis points of easing, or nearly three standard cuts, are projected by December, according to the futures data.Recently, "the prospect of the Fed cutting has been the overwhelming factor driving equity sentiment to be more positive," Miskin said. "And so if that reverses, then it could be problematic for equities."Along with CPI, a Wednesday report on producer prices could also reveal impacts from import tariffs. Last month's PPI data showed US producer prices increased by the most in three years in July as the costs of goods and services surged. Tariffs and their economic implications were the main risk facing markets earlier this year, but other factors such as questions over Fed independence and caution about the artificial intelligence trade have been more prominent recently.The issue returned to the fore this week after a US appeals court ruled that most of President Donald Trump's tariffs are illegal. While the Trump administration has asked the US Supreme Court to hear a bid to preserve the sweeping tariffs, the ruling injected fresh uncertainty for markets."It felt as though the fog of trade war was clearing, and now we're just back into the thick of it," Hogan said. "And that doesn't help corporate America make decisions, consumers make decisions, and investors make decisions."The potential of lost tariff revenue exacerbating the US fiscal deficit was one factor investors said may have driven long-dated US government debt yields sharply higher at the start of the week, moves that also followed big jumps in yields in the UK and other regions. While long-dated yields globally have since calmed, their spikes were cited as contributing to stock weakness initially during the week.The 30-year US Treasury yield this week hit 5% for the first time in over a month. That yield level has been "problematic" for risk appetite over the past few years, said Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist for LPL Financial. The long-bond yield was last around 4.78%, with yields falling broadly on Friday after the jobs data.The S&P 500 was up about 10% so far in 2025, helped recently by a solid second-quarter earnings season. The S&P 500's price-to-earnings ratio climbed to 22.4 times, based on earnings estimates for the next 12 months, a valuation well above its long-term average of 15.9, according to LSEG Datastream."Investors face ongoing threats from trade and tariff unknowns as well as potential economic releases that could ultimately challenge elevated stock valuations," Anthony Saglimbene, chief market strategist at Ameriprise Financial, wrote in a commentary."That said, investors have been navigating those dynamics for months, and stocks have continued to grind higher."

Market Eye The Qatar Stock Exchange Thursday witnessed more than 62% of its traded constituents end in the red, leading its key barometer to lose as much as 43 points and capitalisation melt in excess of QR2bn. The industrials and real estate counters witnessed higher than average selling pressure as the 20-stock Qatar Index shed 0.39% to 11,099.21 points, although it touched an intraday high of 11,181 points. The local retail investors’ weakened net buying had its influence on the main market, whose year-to-date gains truncated further to 5%. The Gulf funds’ lower net buying also had its effect on the main bourse, whose capitalisation melted QR2.19bn or 0.33% to QR662.66bn, mainly on microcap segments. The Arab individuals’ weakened bullish grip made its impact on the main market, which saw as many as 1,760 exchange traded funds (sponsored by AlRayan Bank and Doha Bank) valued at QR5,028 trade across seven deals. The foreign institutions continued to be net sellers but with lesser intensity in the main bourse, whose trade turnover and volumes were on the rise. The Islamic index was seen declining faster than the other indices of the main market, which saw no trading of treasury bills. The foreign retail investors were seen bullish in the main bourse, which saw no trading of sovereign bonds. The Total Return Index shed 0.39%, the All Share Index by 0.28% and the All Islamic Index by 0.52% in the main market. The industrials sector index declined 0.51%, realty (0.5%), consumer goods and services (0.36%), banks and financial services (0.28%) and transport (0.24%); while insurance and telecom gained 0.64% and 0.17% respectively. Major shakers in the main market included Estithmar Holding, Baladna, Meeza, Inma Holding, Doha Bank, Qatar Islamic Bank, QIIB, Widam Food, Ezdan and Nakilat. In the junior bourse, Techno Q saw its shares depreciate in value. Nevertheless, Al Khaleej Takaful, Mannai Corporation, Al Mahhar Holding, Beema and Qatar Insurance were among the gainers in the main market. The Gulf institutions’ net buying declined substantially to QR1.99mn compared to QR11.81mn the previous day. The local individual investors’ net buying weakened significantly to QR3.46mn against QR11.65mn on September 3. The Arab retail investors’ net buying shrank noticeably to QR5.24mn compared to QR10.86mn on Wednesday. However, the domestic funds’ net buying strengthened marginally to QR9.07mn against QR8.63mn the previous day. The foreign retail investors turned net buyers to the tune of QR4.04mn compared with net sellers of QR0.66mn on September 3. The Gulf individual investors’ net buying increased perceptibly to QR2.92mn against QR0.77mn on Wednesday. The foreign institutions’ net profit booking shrank markedly to QR26.72mn compared to QR43.06mn the previous day. The Arab institutions had no major net exposure for the fourth straight session. The main market saw a 5% jump in trade volumes to 140.8mn shares and 6% in value to QR426.98mn but on 34% shrinkage in deals to 20,093. In the venture market, a total of 0.08mn equities valued at QR0.22mn changed hands across 22 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.”