The Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) index gained 73.41 points, or 0.72%, during the week to close at 10,238.17. Market capitalization increased by 0.8% to QR547.9bn versus QR543.6bn at the end of the previous week. Of the 43 listed companies, 29 ended the week higher, while 13 fell and only one remained unchanged. Alijarah Holding (NLCS) was the best performing stock for the week with a gain of 15.1% on 6.8mn shares traded. On the other hand, Qatar General Insurance & Reinsurance Co (QGRI) was the worst performing with a decline of 7.4% on only 1,261 shares traded.
Aamal (AHCS), Masraf Al Rayan (MARK) and Industries Qatar (IQCD) were the primary contributors to the weekly index gain. AHCS was the biggest contributor, adding 16.9 points to the index. MARK was the second biggest contributor, adding 15.2 points to the index. Moreover, IQCD tacked on 15.1 points to the index. On the other hand, Commercial Bank of Qatar (CBQK) contributed negatively to the index, shedding 13.5 points off the index.
Trading value during the week increased by 14.0% to reach QR1.9bn versus QR1.7bn in the prior week. The banks and financial services sector led the trading value during the week, accounting for 28.6% of the total trading value. The industrials was the second biggest contributor to the overall trading value, accounting for 21.4% of the total trading value. Mazaya Qatar Real Estate Development Co (MRDS) was the top value traded stock during the week with total traded value of QR193.2mn.
Trading volume increased by 37.0% to reach 58.1mn shares versus 42.4mn in the prior week. The number of transactions increased by 7.3% to reach 28,670 versus 26,719 in the prior week. The real estate sector led the trading volume, accounting for 28.0%, followed by the banks and financial services sector, which accounted for 26.4% of the overall trading volume. MRDS was also the top volume traded stock during the week with total traded volume of 12.8mn shares.
Foreign institutions remained bullish during the week with net buying of QR196.4mn versus net buying of QR162.6mn in the prior week. Qatari institutions remained bearish with net selling of QR188.6mn versus net selling of QR71.9mn the week before. Foreign retail investors remained bearish for the week with net selling of QR38.8 thousand versus net selling of QR16.4mn in the prior week. Qatari retail investors remained bearish with net selling of QR7.8mn versus net selling of QR74.4mn the week before.
In 2016 year-to-date, foreign institutions bought (on a net basis) $275mn worth of Qatari equities.