Bullish foreign funds lift QSE up for second week in row

Satyendra Pathak Doha Continuing its positive performance for the second week in a row in April, the Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) index inched up by 35.60 ...

Satyendra Pathak Doha Continuing its positive performance for the second week in a row in April, the Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) index inched up by 35.60 points, or 0.25 percent, during the week to close at 14,125.07 points. Market capitalisation moved up by 0.28 percent to reach QR791.8 billion as compared to QR789.6 billion at the end of the previous week. Foreign institutions remained bullish, closing the week with a net buying of QR374 million against a net buying of QR766 million in the previous week. Foreign retail investors also turned bullish during the week with net buying of QR33 million against net selling of QR52 million in the previous week.According to an estimate by QNB Financial Services (QNBFS), as of Wednesday’s closing, foreign institutions were net buyers of Qatari stocks worth $2.42 billion since the start of the current financial year.Qatari institutions, however, remained negative with a net selling of QR264 million against net selling of QR482 million in the week before. Qatari retail investors also remained bearish with a net selling of QR144 million against net selling of QR232 million the week before. Trading value during the week increased by 1.5 percent to reach QR4,677.8 million against QR4,607.2 million in the previous trading week. QNB Group (QNB) was the top value traded stock during the week with a total traded value of QR695.5 million.Trading volume decreased by 27.9 percent to reach 1,126.8 million shares against 1,563 million shares in the previous trading week. The number of transactions increased 4.8 percent to reach 106,370 against 101,468 in the previous week. Investment Holding Group was the top volume traded stock during the week with a total traded volume of 188.8 million shares.Masraf Al Rayan, Industries Qatar and Ooredoo were the primary contributors to the weekly index gain. Masraf Al Rayan and Industries Qatar added 35.7 and 20.6 points to the index, respectively. Moreover, Ooredoo added another 10.7 points to the index.Of the 47 traded companies, 24 closed the week higher, while 22 closed the week lower and one remained unchanged. Qatar First Bank (QFB) was the best performing stock for the week with a gain of 8.5 percent. On the other hand, Qatar General Insurance and Reinsurance Company was the worst-performing stock for the week, with a decline of 4.5 percent.The week witnessed the QSE index make history with an impressive gain of 387 points, or 2.75 percent, to close trading at an all-time high of 14,476.47 points on Sunday. Historically, Qatar’s stock market reached an all-time high of 14350.50 in September of 2014.Commenting on the weekly performance, Doha-based financial analyst Jaber Ali Al Hedfa said that the index’s breakthrough into this historical level at the beginning of the week is an achievement to be reckoned with QSE.In a statement to Qatar News Agency, Al Hedfa said that the recovery of the QSE index is a sign of confidence in the Qatari economy that was confirmed by the competent financial authorities and institutions, the latest of which was the rating granted by Fitch Ratings, affirming Qatar’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at ‘AA-’ with a stable outlook.The financial analyst explained that the index also benefited from the strength of the listed companies, which achieved good results in 2021. He said the listed firms are expected to strengthen during the first quarter as many of them have announced increases in their profits at remarkable rates. Such results increase the attraction of local and foreign investment portfolios, resulting in more liquidity in the market, he said.Al Hedfa pointed out that the companies linked to the oil and gas sector, as well as the banking sector, will continue to lead the market, especially in light of the recorded rise in the prices of these products in global markets.He also expected the good performance of the QSE index to continue in the coming period, with the possibility of breaking the barrier of 15,000 points at the end of 2022’s second quarter.