The Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) index shed 662.14 points, or 6.35%, during the week to close at 9,767.22. Market capitalisation decreased by 5.92% to QR520.4bn versus QR553.2bn at the end of the previous week. Of the 43 listed companies, one company ended the week higher, while 41 fell and one remained unchanged. Mannai Corp (MCCS) was the best performing stock for the week with a gain of 0.52% on only 1,120 shares traded. On the other hand, Qatari Investor Group (QIGD) was the worst performing stock with a decline of 12.7% on 301,065 shares traded.
Ezdan Group Holding (ERES), QNB Group (QNBK) and Industries Qatar (IQCD) were the primary contributors to the weekly index decrease. ERES was the biggest contributor to the index’s weekly decline, shedding 100.8 points to the index. QNBK was the second biggest contributor, erasing 83.5 points from the index. IQCD pulled the index down by 71.1 points.
Trading value during the week decreased by 23.75% to reach QR0.717bn versus QR0.940bn in the prior week. The banks and financial services sector led the trading value during the week, accounting for 38.4% of the total trading value. The industrials sector was the second biggest contributor to the overall trading value, accounting for 27.4% of the total trading value. Gulf International Services (GISS) was the top value traded stock during the week with total traded value of QR110.8mn.
Trading volume decreased by 22.64% to reach 18.5mn shares versus 23.9mn in the prior week. The number of transactions fell by 0.8% to reach 13,456 versus 13,567 in the prior week. The banks and financial services sector led the trading volume, accounting for 25.6%, followed by the real estate sector, which accounted for 23.7% of the overall trading volume. GISS was also the top volume traded stock during the week with total traded volume of 2.3mn shares.
Foreign institutions remained bearish during the week with net selling of QR14.1mn vs net selling of QR61.5mn in the prior week. Qatari institutions turned bearish with net selling of QR69.2mn vs net buying of QR259.9mn the week before. Foreign retail investors turned bullish for the week with net buying of QR22.0mn vs net selling of QR109.8mn in the prior week. Qatari retail investors turned bullish with net buying of QR61.3mn vs net selling of QR88.6mn the week before.
So far 2016, volumes remain subdued while foreign institutions’ participation remains limited. We expect activity to pick up into the dividend season.
The QSE index closed down by 6.35% at 9,767.22 points vs the week before. Traded volume dropped even further during the first week of trading in 2016 and the index could not penetrate above the 10,500 short-term resistance level. The overall momentum remains down; the index printed below its moving averages and the MACD is way below the zero line. Only a penetration above 10,500 could propel the index higher, but the main trend remains down. We reiterate our medium-term support and resistance levels to be around the 9,600 and 11,300 points, respectively.
Candlestick chart – A candlestick chart is a price chart that displays the high, low, open, and close for a security. The ‘body’ of the chart is portion between the open and close price, while the high and low intraday movements form the ‘shadow’. The candlestick may represent any time frame. We use a one-day candlestick chart (every candlestick represents one trading day) in our analysis.
Doji candlestick pattern – A Doji candlestick is formed when a security’s open and close are practically equal. The pattern indicates indecisiveness, and based on preceding price actions and future confirmation, may indicate a bullish or bearish trend reversal.