Profit-booking by domestic institutions leads to losses

Profit-booking by domestic institutions led the Qatar Exchange to negative territory this week that also saw a majority of the other Gulf bourses in losses.

Although local retail investors considerably increased their exposure, the QE Index (based on price data) and the Total Return Index (which factors in dividend income as well) fell 0.77% each in the week that saw Kuwait bourse lose 3.14%, followed by Muscat (1.32%) and Bahrain (0.19%); while Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi rose 1.25% and 0.28% respectively. Dubai ended flat.

Large and mid cap equities witnessed the maximum selling pressure in the week that saw the Qatar Financial Market Authority allow liquidity providers, listing of the units of investment funds and securities lending/borrowing and the entry of foreign brokerage houses.

Doha’s bourse is down year-to-date (YTD) 6% vis-à-vis Dubai’s gain of 8.15%, followed by Saudi Arabia (5.09%), Abu Dhabi (1.84%), Kuwait (1.61%) and Muscat (0.24%); while Bahrain fell 1.18%.

About 60% of the stocks were in the red with major losers being Commercialbank, Doha Bank, QNB, Qatar Islamic Bank, International Islamic, Dlala, Aamal Company, Mazaya Qatar, Vodafone Qatar, Qatar Telecom and Nakilat; while Industries Qatar (IQ), Qatari Investors Group, Barwa and Gulf Warehousing (GWC) bucked the trend in the week that saw reports that Masraf Al Rayan plans to take over a loss-making Islamic bank in the UK in which International Islamic has an 84% stake.

The QE All Share Index (comprising wider constituents) shrank 0.66% with the telecom index plunging 2.47%, banks and financial services (1.04%), industrials (0.43%) and consumer goods (0.24%); while the indices of realty, transport and insurance rose 0.93%, 0.34% and 0.23% respectively in the week that saw Qatar Statistics Authority data that the country’s inflation remained stable for the third consecutive month in May.

The indices of transport and real estate have lost YTD 8.86% and 3.55%; whereas those of consumer goods, telecom, insurance, industrials and banks and financial services gained 27.06%, 18.41%, 10.80%, 7.32% and 0.48% respectively.

Of the 42 stocks; only 16 advanced, while 25 declined and one was unchanged in the week that saw a Markaz report which said Qatar’s banking sector is expected to stay profitable and maintain double-digit loans and deposit growth in 2012.

Ten of the 12 banks and financial services, five each of the eight consumer goods and the eight industrials, all of the two telecom and one each of the five insurance, four real estate and three transport stocks closed lower in the week that saw QNB provide a QR290mn loan to fund a world-scale carbon dioxide recovery plant to be set up by IQ subsidiary Qatar Fuel Additives Company.

Market capitalisation shrank 0.33% to more than QR1bn to QR444.45bn with large and mid cap equities melting 0.82% and 0.79% respectively; while micro caps gained 0.27% in the week. Mid and large cap stocks have fallen YTD 6.47% and 5.88%; while micro and small caps rose 15.29% and 6.75% respectively.

Domestic institutions’ bullish grip considerably weakened as their net buying plunged to 6.25% from 30.03% the previous week. They were net buyers to the tune of QR71.26mn.

A much lower 20.82% of them were into buying against 39.44% in the week ended June 7, while a higher 14.57% into selling compared to 9.41%.

Foreign institutions continued to be profit-takers but with lesser intensity as their net selling plummeted to 5.41% from 32.72% the previous week. They were net sellers to the extent of QR61.69mn.

For more on this:

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=512502&version=1&template_id=48&parent_id=28