Continuing its gaining trend for the third week in a row, the Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) index increased by 129.82 points, or 1.3 percent, during the week to close at 10,342.43 points.
Foreign institutions turned bullish during the week that saw QSE’s market capitalisation increase by 1.5 percent to reach QR601.5 billion compared with QR592.5 billion at the end of the previous trading week.
Foreign institutions turned bullish, closing the week with net buying of QR68.9 million against net selling of QR100.5 million in the previous week.
Qatari institutions turned bearish with net selling of QR74.8 million against net buying of QR74.8 million in the week before.
Foreign retail investors, however, closed the week with net selling of QR23.9 million against net selling of QR16.1 million in the previous week.
Qatari retail investors recorded net buying of QR29.9 million against net buying of QR41.7 million the weekbefore.
According to an estimate by QNB Financial Services (QNBFS), as of Thursday’s closing, global foreign institutions were net buyers of Qatari stocks worth $25.7 million since the start of the currentfinancial year.
Traded value during the week decreased 22.4 percent to QR1,962.8 million fromQR2,529.7 million in the previous trading week. Dukhan Bank was the top value traded stock during the week with total traded value of QR232million.
Traded volume declined 24.5 percent to 744.7 million shares compared to 986.2 million shares in the previous trading week.
Estithmar Holding was the top volume traded stock during the week with total traded volume of 88.9 million shares.
The number of transactions also fell 21.1 percent to 69,158 against 87,671 in the previous week.
Dlala Brokerage and Investment Holding was the best performing stock for the week, rising 16.1 percent. Meanwhile, Masraf Al Rayan was the worst performing stock for the week, declining 6.4 percent.
Qatar Islamic Bank, Nakilat and Ooredoo were the primary contributors to the weekly index gain. Qatar Islamic Bank and Nakilat added 57.46 points and 27.81 points to the index, respectively. Further, Ooredoo contributed another 24.04 points.
Of the 50 traded companies, 38 closed the week higher. While 11 stocks closed lower, there was no change in the share price of the remaining one share.
Commenting on the weekly performance of the QSE, Financial Analyst Youssef Bouhlaiqa told Qatar News Agency that what distinguished QSE during the first week of April was the state of awaiting the results of the listed companies for first quarter of 2023.
He pointed out that the rises during the first sessions of the week was primarily due to the OPEC+ decision to reduce oil production, which led to a rise in its prices in the global markets.
He explained that the declines during the last sessions of the week were due to profit-taking operations, expecting that the results of the listed companies that would be revealed next week with the announcement of the results of Qatar National Bank on April 10 would be better than those recorded in the same period last year, especially in the banking sector that benefits from raising the interest rates.
Bouhlaiqa pointed out that the current week saw a demand from foreign portfolios due to increasing confidence in the Qatari economy, supported by the ratings of international credit agencies, the latest of which was Fitch Ratings, which confirmed Qatar’s sovereign rating with stable to positive outlook.
The financial analyst pointed out that the selling operations of the portfolios are higher than the buying operations, given that they are in the process of changing positions, expecting the continuation of the positive performance of the QSE during the current month.
Meanwhile, the week saw the Group Security announcing that it will work as a market maker for more companies.
“With reference to the agreement with the Qatar Stock Exchange regarding the activity of the market maker on 10-5-2020 and the licensing of the Qatar Financial Markets Authority, the group will work as a market maker for companies including Qamco, Nakilat, Gulf Warehousing Company, Vodafone Qatar, Barwa, Ezdan Holding, Mesaieed, Baladna, Gulf International Services, Qatar Islamic Bank, Milaha and Estithmar Holding in addition to the companies on which the Group, acts as a market maker,” the Group Security said in a statement posted on the QSE website.
During the week, the QNB Financial Services (QNBFS) also announced that it started market making activity as of April 6, 2023 for companies like Qamco, Nakilat, Gulf Warehousing Company, Vodafone Qatar, Barwa, Ezdan Holding, Mesaieed, Baladna, Gulf International Services in addition to the companies on which the QNBFS already acts as a market maker.