The Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) index gained 621.03 points, or 5.22% during the week, to close at 12,520.66. Market capitalisation rose by 4.20% to reach QR676.1bn compared to QR648.8bn at the end of the previous week. Of the 43 listed companies, 36 ended the week higher, while seven fell. Aamal Company (AHCS) was the best performing stock for the week, with a gain of 20.55% on 1.6mn shares traded; the stock is up 15.47% year-to-date (YTD). On the other hand, Qatar General Insurance and Reinsurance Company (QGRI) was the worst performing stock with a decline of 6.62% on only 1,079 shares traded; the stock is down 6.78% YTD.
Ezdan Holding Group (ERES), Masraf Al Rayan (MARK) and Barwa Real Estate Company (BRES) were the biggest contributors to the weekly index gain. ERES was the biggest contributor, adding 159.5 points to the index’s weekly appreciation of 621.0 points. MARK contributed 155.9 points, while BRES contributed 64.6 points. On the other hand, QNB Group (QNBK), Ooredoo (ORDS) and Doha Bank (DHBK) negatively contributed toward the QSE index. QNBK shaved off 60.9 points followed by ORDS (1.6 points) and DHBK (0.7 points).
Trading value during the week increased by 73.4% to reach QR3.5bn vs. QR2.0bn in the prior week. The banks and financial services sector led the trading value, accounting for 28.9% of the total. The real estate sector was the second biggest contributor, accounting for 26.7% of the total trading value. BRES was the top value traded stock during the week with total traded value of QR445.9mn.
Trading volume increased by 109.9% to reach 91.7mn shares vs. 43.7mn shares in the prior week. The number of transactions rose by 49.1% to reach 40,426 versus 27,118 in the prior week. The real estate sector led the trading volume, accounting for 40.5%, followed by the banks and financial Services sector, which accounted for 20.9% of the overall trading volume. (ERES) was the top volume traded stock during the week with total traded volume of 20.3mn shares.
Foreign institutions remained bullish during the week with net buying of QR144.3mn vs. net buying of QR85.1mn in the prior week. Qatari institutions remained bearish with net selling of QR43.9mn vs. net selling of QR97.6mn the week before. Foreign retail investors remained bearish for the week with net selling of QR69.9mn vs. net selling of QR9.3mn in the prior week. Qatari retail investors turned bearish with net selling of QR30.6mn vs. net buying of QR22.1mn the week before.
In 2015 YTD, foreign institutions sold (on a net basis) $44mn worth of Qatari equities.