15/02/2014 07:12 AST
Qatar Exchange hit a new five-and-a-half-year high and added QR16bn in capitalisation on buying support from local retail investors during the week.
Consumer goods and banking stocks made impressive gains, which lifted the 20-stock Qatar Index by 2.89% to break the 11,500 levels in the week that witnessed Qatar Insurance Company reach an agreement to acquire the entire share capital of Antares Holdings, together with its subsidiaries, a specialist insurer and re-insurer operating in the Lloyd’s market.
In comparison, Dubai surged 4.25%, Abu Dhabi (3.61%), Saudi Arabia (1.25%), Bahrain (1.06%), Muscat (0.94%) and Kuwait (0.14%).
Buying interests was squarely visible among large cap stocks in the week that saw Woqod International, a subsidiary of Woqod, line up its overseas strategy on an “open budget”.
The overall bullish momentum was also helped by foreign institutions’ net buying amidst lower exposure in the week that witnessed Milaha take delivery of the 32m-long tug ‘Semesma’, the eleventh vessel built in Qatar by Nakilat Damen Shipyard Qatar.
However, non-Qatari investors continued to be net sellers in the week that saw Qatar General Insurance and Reinsurance Company report about 13-fold rise in net profit in 2013.
The 20-stock Total Return Index rose 2.92%, All Share Index (comprising wider constituents) by 3.07% and Al Rayan Islamic Index by 2.18% in the week that saw Qatari Investors Group report a 45% jump in net profit in 2013.
QE has risen 10.94% year-to-date (YTD) compared to 21.63% in Dubai, 14.03% in Abu Dhabi, 5.53% in Bahrain, 4.96% in Muscat, 4.62% in Saudi Arabia and 3.88% in Kuwait.
More than 57% of the traded stocks extended gains. Of the 42 stocks, 24 advanced; while only 15 declined and three were unchanged in the week that witnessed Dlala Brokerage and Investment Holding Company report a 79% plunge in net profit in 2013.
Consumer goods stocks shot up 6.05%, banks and financial services (4.72%), transport (2.84%), insurance (1.59%), industrials (1.27%) and telecom (1.22%); while real estate fell 0.43% in the week.
Seven of the 12 banks and financial services, six of the consumer goods, four of the five insurers, three of the eight industrials and two each of the two telecom and the three transport scrips closed higher in the week.
Among the influential movers were Industries Qatar, QNB, Vodafone Qatar, Qatar Islamic Bank, Doha Bank, International Islamic, Masraf Al Rayan, al khaliji, Nakilat, Milaha, Gulf International Services, Al Meera and Qatar Islamic Insurance.
However, Commercial Bank, Alijarah Holding, Qatari Investors Group, Mazaya Qatar, Barwa and United Development Company bucked the trend.
The overall market trading volume was largely skewed towards banks and financial services, telecom and real estate sectors in the week.
However, market capitalisation expanded 2.73% to QR602.98bn. Large cap equities rose about 5%, mid caps by about 2% and micro caps (0.37%); while small caps fell more than 1% in the week.
Small, large, mid and micro cap stocks have gained YTD 11.57%, 11.02%, 8.71% and 4.04% respectively. Foreign institutions’ net buying amounted to QR147.87mn compared to QR96.02mn the previous week.
However, domestic institutions turned net sellers to the tune of QR31.84mn against net buyers of QR102.24mn the week ended February 6.
Local retail investors’ net selling stood at QR60.64mn against QR156.12mn the pervious week.
Non-Qatari individual investors’ net selling was QR55.66mn compared to QR41.91mn the week ended February 6.
Total trading volume rose 26% to 70.45mn shares with the banks and financial services sector accounting for 29.91% of the total, telecom (27.01%), real estate (19.32%), consumer goods (9.54%), industrials (7.31%), transport (4.67%) and insurance (2.24%).
Gulf Times
Please wait...
