Foreign institutions' QR149bn net buying supported the bullish rally on the Qatar Exchange during the week.
Industrials, real estate and banking stocks were seen to appreciate more than 1% each as the QE 20-stock Qatar Index (based on price data) rose about 1% in the week that witnessed Dubai surge 4.8%, Saudi Arabia (1.75%), Abu Dhabi (1.56%) and Bahrain (0.77%).
However, Kuwait and Muscat fell 0.78% and 0.28% respectively.
The index that tracks Shariah-principled stocks underperformed other key barometers in the week that saw Qatar launch a six-pillared new strategic plan for financial sector reforms.
The 20-stock Total Return Index rose 0.93%, All Share Index (comprising wider constituents) by 1.03% and Al Rayan Islamic Index by 0.3% in the week, which saw Prime Minister HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani say that hydrocarbon's contribution to national economy is to diminish in the foreseeable future.
Local retail investors sought to book profits in the week, which saw QNB chief economist Joannes Mongardini say Qatar, which does not face any imminent threat from the US' shale gas, could get higher ratings, along with the other countries in the region, if a permanent solution for Iran crisis is arrived at.
More than 57% of the stocks appreciated in the week, which witnessed Finance Minister HE Ali Sherif al-Emadi outline a higher outlay for health and education in the upcoming general budget.
However, non-Qatari individual investors continued to be bearish but with lesser vigour in the week, which saw Industries Qatar (IQ) subsidiary Qatar Petrochemical and Qatar Petroleum ink the Front-End Engineering and Design for their joint venture Al Sejeel Petrochemical Complex, which will be built in Ras Laffan Industrial City.
QE has reported 25.45% gains year-to-date (YTD), which, however, was lower than Dubai's 94.63% surge, Abu Dhabi (52.08%) and Kuwait (29.83%). Saudi Arabia rose 23.33%, Muscat (17.17%) and Bahrain (13.24%). The overall market liquidity -- which was largely skewed towards telecom, real estate and banking stocks -- rose mainly on faster gains in volumes in the realty, telecom and banking counters in the week that saw Doha Bank gain licence to operate full-scale operations in India.
The sector prospects in the QE was bullish on strong outlook, especially in the real estate, industrials and banking equities in the week that saw Qatar General Insurance and Reinsurance Company announce plans to convert its wholly-owned subsidiary Qatar General Holding into a private-shareholding entity with a view to spin-off its real and investments activities from its core operations.
Of the 42 stocks, 24 advanced; while 15 declined and three were unchanged in the week that featured Invest AD say global index compiler MSCI's upgrade of Qatar and the UAE to 'emerging' market from 'frontier' status ought to see around $350mn from exchange traded funds alone.
Among the major gainers were QNB, IQ, Commercial Bank, Doha Bank, al khaliji, Barwa, Nakilat, Aamal Company, Widam Food and United Development Company.
However, Mazaya Qatar, Vodafone Qatar, Ezdan, Milaha, Masraf Al Rayan and Qatari Investors Group bucked the trend.
Industrials equities appreciated 1.66%, followed by real estate (1.39%), banks and financial services (1.11%), insurance (0.49%), telecom (0.11%), transport (0.09%) and consumer goods (0.06%) in the week.
Seven each of the 12 banks and financial services and the eight industrials, four of the eight consumer goods, two each of the five insurers and the four realty and one each of the two telecom and the three transport stocks closed higher in the week.
Market capitalisation expanded 1% or more than QR5bn to QR559.46bn. Large cap equities gained more than 1% and mid and micro caps (about 1% each) in the week. Small, mid and large caps have gained YTD 30.3%, 28.38% and 21.27% respectively; whereas micro caps fell 2.62%.
Foreign institutions' net buying amounted to QR149.44mn compared to QR29mn the week ended December 5.
Domestic institutions' net selling was QR12.3mn against QR62.13mn the previous week.
Qatari individual investors were net sellers to the tune of QR118.58mn compared with net buyers of QR65.93mn the week ended December 5.
Non-Qatari retail investors' net selling fell to QR18.96mn against QR32.97mn the previous week.
Total trading volume rose 13% to 63.15mn shares with the telecom sector accounting for 35.52% of the total, followed by realty (26.02%), banks and financial services (20.24%), industrials (6.75%), consumer goods (6.11%), transport (4.88%) and insurance (0.49%).
The real estate sector's trading volume surged 38% to 16.43mn shares, telecom by 36% to 22.43mn, banks and financial services by 27% to 12.78mn and industrials by 15% to 4.26mn; while transport fell 57% to 3.08mn, insurance by 53% to 0.31mn and consumer goods by 31% to 3.86mn.
Total stocks trading value gained 27% to QR2.02bn with the banks and financial services sector accounting for 32.99% of the total, followed by realty (20.38%), industrials (19.62%), telecom (13.76%), consumer goods (8.31%), transport (4.04%) and insurance (0.89%).
The real estate sector's stocks trading value shot up 74% to QR411mn, industrials by 67% to QR395.72mn, banks and financial services by 41% to QR665.38mn and telecom by 33% to QR277.47mn; whereas transport shrank 57% to QR81.55mn, insurance by 48% to QR18.03mn and consumer goods by 20% to QR167.59mn.
Barwa led the trading value with its stocks accounting for 14.59% of the total, followed by Vodafone Qatar (12.84%) and IQ (11.11%).
Total market transactions was up 14% to 25,891 with the banks and financial sector's share at 29.21%, followed by industrials (20.22%), realty (19.86%), telecom (16.24%), consumer goods (9.76%), transport (3.69%) and insurance (1.02%).
The real estate sector's deals expanded 49% to 5,142; industrials by 42% to 5,235; telecom by 40% to 4,204 and banks and financial services by 14% to 7,564; while insurance plummeted 69% to 263; transport by 54% to 956 and consumer goods by 15% to 2,527.
In the debt market, there was no trading of treasury bills. However, a total of 80,000 bonds worth QR806.59mn changed hands across four transactions during the week.
© Gulf Times 2013
