The Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) index gained 192.64 points, or 1.98%, during the week to close at 9,941.42. Market capitalisation increased by 1.58% to QR535.1bn versus QR526.8bn at the end of the previous week. Of the 44 listed companies, 33 companies ended the week higher, while nine fell and only 2 remained unchanged. Medicare (MCGS) was the best performing stock for the week with a gain of 23.1% on 1.5mn traded shares. On the other hand, Qatar First Bank (QFBQ) was the worst performing stock with a decline of 11.6% on 6.5mn shares traded.
Ezdan Holding Group (ERES), Masraf Al Rayan (MARK) and Ooredoo (ORDS) were the primary contributors to the weekly index gain. ERES was the biggest contributor to the index’s weekly gain, adding 55.1 points to the index. MARK was the second biggest contributor to the gains, tacking on 25.4 points to the index. Moreover, ORDS contributed 21.6 points to the index. On the other hand, Qatar Islamic Bank (QIBK) contributed negatively to the index, erasing 2.6 points from the index.
Trading value during the week increased by 5.2% to reach QR1.39bn versus QR1.32bn in the prior week. The banks and financial services sector led the trading value during the week, accounting for 29.0% of the total trading value. The industrials sector was the second biggest contributor to the overall trading value, accounting for 26.3% of the total trading value. MCGS was the top value traded stock during the week with total traded value of QR146.8mn.
Trading volume decreased by 6.7% to reach 39.6mn shares versus 42.5mn in the prior week. The number of transactions increased by 12.2% to reach 24,661 versus 21,986 in the prior week. The banks and financial services sector led the trading volume, accounting for 35.7%, followed by the industrials sector, which accounted for 20.2% of the overall trading volume. Qatar First Bank (QFBQ) was the top volume traded stock during the week with total traded volume of 6.5mn shares.
Foreign institutions remained bullish during the week with net buying of QR84.3mn versus net buying of QR8.0mn in the prior week. Qatari institutions remained bearish with net selling of QR89.4mn versus net selling of QR15.3mn the week before. Foreign retail investors turned bearish for the week with net selling of QR2.6mn versus net buying of QR15.1mn in the prior week. Qatari retail investors turned bullish with net buying of QR7.7mn versus net selling of QR7.8mn the week before.
In 2016 year-to-date, foreign institutions bought (on a net basis) $400mn worth of Qatari equities.