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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.”

Market EyeThe Gulf institutions' stronger buying interests led the Qatar Stock Exchange to surge 112 points and its key index surpassed 11,400 levels and capitalisation add in excess of QR8bn.The banks, consumer goods and industrials counters witnessed higher than average demand as the 20-stock Qatar Index rose 0.99% to 11,405.5 points, recovering from an intraday low of 11,265 points.The Gulf individuals’ weakened net buying had its influence on the main market, whose year-to-date gains widened to 7.89%.However, the foreign funds were seen net profit takers in the main bourse, whose capitalisation added QR8.06bn or 1.2% to QR679.79bn mainly on large and midcap segments.The local retail investors turned bearish in the main market, which saw as many as 3,240 exchange traded funds (sponsored by AlRayan Bank and Doha Bank) valued at QR0.02mn trade across seven deals.The domestic institutions were seen increasingly net sellers in the main bourse, whose trade turnover and volumes were on the increase.The Islamic index saw slower gains than the other indices of the main market, which saw no trading of treasury bills.The foreign individuals turned net profit takers in the main bourse, which saw no trading of sovereign bonds.The Total Return Index soared 0.99% and the All Share Index by 1.14% and the All Islamic Index by 0.64% in the main market.The banks and financial services sector shot up 1.66%, consumer goods and services (1.48%), industrials (1.16%) and real estate (0.36%); while telecom declined 1.56%, insurance (0.17%) and transport (0.16%).Major movers in the main market included Meeza, QNB, Industries Qatar, Woqod, Qatar Islamic Bank and Qatar Electricity and Water.Nevertheless, QLM, Ooredoo, Commercial Bank, Doha Bank, Gulf International Services, Qatar German Medical Devices, Al Faleh Educational Holding, Al Mahhar Holding, Estithmar Holding, Mazaya Qatar and Gulf Warehousing were among the shakers in the main bourse.In the venture market, Techno Q saw its shares depreciate in value.The Gulf institutions’ net buying strengthened substantially to QR180.48mn compared to QR6.82mn the previous day.The Gulf retail investors’ net profit booking weakened marginally to QR0.52mn against QR0.97mn on August 25.However, the foreign institutions turned net sellers to the tune of QR105.83mn compared with net buyers of QR5.83mn on Monday.The local retail investors were net sellers to the extent of QR45.84mn against net buyers of QR6.61mn the previous day.The domestic institutions’ net profit booking expanded perceptibly to QR22.51mn compared to QR19.74mn on August 25.The foreign individual investors turned net sellers to the tune of QR3.24mn against net buyers of QR2.1mn on Monday.The Arab retail investors’ net selling increased noticeably to QR1.98mn compared to QR0.67mn the previous day.The Arab institutions were net profit takers to the extent of QR0.56mn against no major net exposure on August 25.In the main market, trade volumes almost doubled to 238.65mn shares and value more than tripled to QR949.52mn on more than doubled deals to 34,915.In the venture market, a total of 0.23mn equities valued at QR0.62mn changed hands across 40 transactions.

Market EyeMirroring the global sentiments over uncertainties in the US Federal Reserve's rate cut path, the Qatar Stock Exchange Monday fell more than 29 points and its key index retreated below 11,300 levels and capitalisation eroded about QR3bn.The domestic funds were seen net profit takers as the 20-stock Qatar Index shed 0.26% to 11,293.42 points, although it touched an intraday high of 11,350 points.The consumer goods, transport, banks and industrials counters witnessed higher than average selling pressure in the main market, whose year-to-date gains truncated to 6.83%.More than 65% of the traded constituents were in the red in the main bourse, whose capitalisation shed QR2.88bn or 0.43% to QR671.73bn mainly on small and microcap segments.The Arab individuals turned bearish in the main market, which saw as many as 0.02mn exchange traded funds (sponsored by AlRayan Bank and Doha Bank) valued at QR0.04mn trade across six deals.However, the Gulf institutions were net buyers in the main bourse, whose trade turnover and volumes were on the increase.The Islamic index saw slower decline than the other indices of the main market, which saw no trading of treasury bills.The local retail investors and foreign funds were seen net buyers in the main bourse, which saw no trading of sovereign bonds.The Total Return Index shed 0.26% and the All Share Index by 0.38% and the All Islamic Index by 0.22% in the main market.The consumer goods and services sector index declined 0.56%, transport (0.54%), banks and financial services (0.38%), industrials (0.37%), insurance (0.23%), telecom (0.18%) and real estate (0.11%).Major losers in the main market included Baladna, Medicare Group, Alijarah Holding, Estithmar Holding, Milaha, QNB, Mannai Corporation and Industries Qatar.In the junior bourse, Techno Q saw its shares depreciate in value.Nevertheless, Doha Bank, Mesaieed Petrochemical Holding, QLM, Al Mahhar Holding and Meeza were among the gainers in the main market.The domestic institutions turned net sellers to the tune of QR19.74mn compared with net buyers of QR4.54mn the previous day.The Arab individuals were net profit takers to the extent of QR0.67mn against net buyers of QR6.09mn on August 24.However, the Gulf institutions turned net buyers to the tune of QR6.82mn compared with net sellers of QR7.1mn on Sunday.The local retail individuals were net buyers to the extent of QR6.61mn against net sellers of QR2.4mn the previous day.The foreign institutions turned net buyers to the tune of QR5.83mn compared with net sellers of QR1.3mn on August 24.The foreign individual investors’ net buying strengthened marginally to QR2.1mn against QR1.58mn on Sunday.The Gulf retail investors’ net profit booking weakened perceptibly to QR0.97mn compared to QR1.41mn the previous day.The Arab institutions had no major net exposure for the second consecutive session.The main market saw a 6% jump in trade volumes to 121.84mn shares, 18% in value to QR311.22mn and 15% in deals to 13,997.In the venture market, a total of 0.6mn equities valued at QR1.66mn changed hands across 99 transactions.

The Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) on Sunday opened the week weak with its key index losing 20 points despite gainers outnumbering losers by wide margin.The Gulf institutions were seen net profit takers as the 20-stock Qatar Index shed 0.18% to 11,322.64 points, although it touched an intraday high of 11,388 points.The banks and insurance counters witnessed higher than average selling pressure in the main market, whose year-to-date gains truncated to 7.11%.The Gulf individuals turned bearish in the main bourse, whose capitalisation shed QR1.11bn or 0.16% to QR674.61bn mainly on microcap segments.The local retail investors were increasingly net sellers in the main market, which saw as many as 45 exchange traded funds (sponsored by AlRayan Bank) valued at QR108 trade across one deal.The domestic institutions’ weakened net buying had its influence on the main bourse, whose trade turnover and volumes were on the decrease.The Islamic index made gains vis-à-vis decline in the other indices of the main market, which saw no trading of treasury bills.The foreign funds continued to be net sellers but with lesser intensity in the main bourse, which saw no trading of sovereign bonds.The Total Return Index was down 0.18% and the All Share Index by 0.23%; while the All Islamic Index was up 0.05% in the main market.The banks and financial services sector index declined 0.69%, insurance (0.34%) and telecom (0.18%); while industrials gained 0.57%, real estate (0.48%), transport (0.4%) and consumer goods and services (0.27%).Major losers in the main market included Baladna, QNB, Qatar Insurance, Qatar Islamic Bank, Doha Insurance, Mekdam Holding, Commercial Bank, QIIB, AlRayan Bank and Ooredoo.In the junior bourse, Techno Q saw its shares depreciate in value.Nevertheless, about 59% of the traded constituents extended gains to investors in the main bourse with major gainers being QLM, Medicare Group, Al Faleh Educational Holding, Qatar German Medical Devices, Qatar Electricity and Water, Dlala, Mannai Corporation, Industries Qatar, Aamal Company, Qamco, Ezdan and Nakilat.The Gulf institutions turned net sellers to the tune of QR7.1mn compared with net buyers of QR1.45mn last Thursday.The local retail individuals’ net selling increased marginally to QR2.4mn against QR2.18mn the previous trading day.The Gulf individuals were net profit taker to the extent of QR1.41mn compared with net buyers of QR0.4mn on August 21.The domestic institutions’ net buying decreased perceptibly to QR4.54mn against QR5.94mn last Thursday.However, the Arab individuals’ net buying expanded noticeably to QR6.09mn compared to QR2.32mn the previous trading day.The foreign retail investors’ net buying strengthened marginally to QR1.58mn against QR1.34mn on August 21.The foreign institutions’ net profit booking decreased markedly to QR1.3mn compared to QR9.1mn last Thursday.The Arab institutions had no major net exposure against net sellers to the extent of QR0.16mn the previous trading day.The main market saw a 9% contraction in trade volumes to 114.74mn shares, 24% in value to QR263.28mn and 46% in deals to 12,153.In the venture market, a total of 0.37mn equities valued at QR1.05mn changed hands across 54 transactions.