Dilemma over whether to cut or freeze oil production appears to have swayed the Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE), which plunged a huge 120 points during the week mainly on net profit booking by foreign institutions.

However, Shariah-stocks moved contrary to the market during the week, which saw Industries Qatar (IQ) say that its subsidiary Qatar Petrochemical Company is close to finalising an ethane-based expansion project.

Banking and insurance stocks witnessed declines during the week, which saw the Ministry of Economy and Commerce slap a fine of QR1mn each on QIIB and Medicare Group for holding an extraordinary general assembly without the approval of its companies control department.

The bourse opened the week weak, after which it marginally rose on Monday and to peak on the next day to cross the resistance level of 10,000 points but subsequent profit booking on the next two days led it settle at 9,847 points on Thursday.

Although five of the seven sectors witnessed strong buying, resulting in gainers outnumber decliners; the 20-stock Qatar Index lost 1.2% during the week which however saw Dubai gain 1.01%, Abu Dhabi (0.91%), Bahrain (0.84%) and Kuwait (0.66%); while Muscat fell 0.57%.

QSE is down 5.58% year-to-date against a fall of 7.84% in Kuwait, 2.76% in Bahrain, 1.3% in Abu Dhabi, 0.85% in Dubai and 0.33% in Muscat.

However, there was increased net buying by local retail investors and substantially weaker net selling by domestic institutions in the QSE during week which saw trading turnover and volumes on the rise.

Buying interests of non-Qatari individual investors were seen weakening during the week which witnessed the industrials, realty and banking sectors together account for more than 76% of the total trading volume.

The 20-stock Total Return Index rose 0.35%, All Share Index (comprising wider constituents) by 0.6% and Al Rayan Islamic Index by 2.26% during the week which saw Gulf International Services (GIS), Masraf Al Rayan, Barwa and United Development Company dominate the trading ring in terms of volume and value.

Banks and financial services stocks shrank 1.45% and insurance 0.98%, while transport surged 3.17%, industrials (2.62%), realty (1.88%), telecom (1.4%) and consumer goods (1.35%) during the week which saw global credit rating agency Moody’s assign an ‘A2/Prime-1’ deposit ratings and a ‘baa3’ baseline credit assessment on Ahlibank.

Market capitalisation eroded 1.08% or about QR6bn to QR523.34bn mainly on 2.9% fall in large cap equities; even as small, micro and mid caps gained 3.49%, 3.33% and 2.13% respectively during the week which featured a NBAD report that said non-cyclical sectors as consumer staples and utilities are expected to perform better than commodities and financials in the Middle East and North Africa, where the equity market is likely to be “volatile” in the near term.

Micro, large and small cap stocks have fallen year-to-date 9.27%, 7.04% and 4.52% respectively; whereas mid caps rose 1.21%.

Of the 43 stocks, as many as 25 advanced, while only 18 declined during the week which featured a report from Moody’s that banks in the Gulf Cooperation Council could witness “increasingly negative” impact of tight liquidity, higher funding costs and lower profitability in view of sustained low oil prices, which are expected to be $33 a barrel this year and $38 in 2017.

Six of the 12 banks and financial services; four each of the nine industrials and the five insurers; two of the eight consumer goods; and one each of the four real estate and the two telecom stocks closed lower during the week which saw banking and financial services as well as real estate sectors witness considerable slowdown in their net profitability in 2015.

Major losers included Qatar Islamic Bank, Masraf Al Rayan, Qatar Electricity and Water, al khaliji, IQ, QNB, Commercial Bank, Qatar Insurance and Vodafone Qatar during the week.

However, Qatari Investors Group, GIS, Islamic Holding Group, Doha Bank, QIIB, Alijarah Holding, Ezdan, Mazaya Qatar, Ooredoo, Gulf Warehousing and Nakilat were seen bucking the trend during the week.

Foreign institutions turned net sellers to the tune of QR30.5mn against net buyers of QR98.31mn the week ended February 18.

Non-Qatari retail investors’ net buying declined to mere QR0.61mn compared to QR2.48mn the previous week.

However, local retail investors’ net buying strengthened perceptibly to QR53.52mn against QR2.79mn the week ended February 18.

Domestic institutions’ net profit booking plummeted to QR23.63mn compared to QR103.57mn the previous week.

Total trade volume rose 14% to 57.9mn shares, value by 30% to QR2.02bn and transactions by 19% to 28,758 during the week.

The banks and financial services sector reported 40% surge in trade volume to 13.98mn equities, 54% in value to QR594.69mn and 37% in deals to 7,036.

The real estate sector’s trade volume soared 31% to 14.38mn stocks, value by 49% to QR360mn and transactions by 15% to 4,621.

There was 24% expansion in the industrials sector’s trade volume to 15.89mn shares, 47% in value to QR666.57mn and 34% in deals to 9,236.

The telecom sector’s trade volume was up 7% to 2.45mn equities, value by 37% to QR70.69mn and transactions by 22% to 2,370.

However, the insurance sector saw 61% plunge in trade volume to 0.47mn stocks, 65% in value to QR23.71mn and 27% in deals to 464.

The transport sector’s trade volume plummeted 23% to 2.48mn shares and value by 5% to QR90.48mn, while transactions were up 1% to 1,386.

The market witnessed 18% decline in the consumer goods sector’s trade volume to 8.24mn equities, 16% in value to QR213.48mn and 11% in deals to 3,645.

In the debt market, there was no trading of treasury bills and government bonds during the week.