Qatar- Foreign institutions' strong buying support lifts QSE above 10,450 levels

(MENAFN - Gulf Times) Foreign institutions' strong buying support lifted the Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) above the 10,450 levels and capitalisation gained in excess of QR17bn this week, which saw the index rejig took effect from April 1. The telecom, banking and real estate counters witnessed higher than average demand as the 20-stock Qatar Index shot up 289 points or 2.84% this week which saw Qatar's listed companies report a cumulative net profit of QR31.23bn in 2020. Arab funds were seen bullish, albeit at lower levels, this week which saw a strong quarter-on-quarter growth in the non-oil sector to a great extend help Qatar overcome the weaker hydrocarbons, substantially limiting the fall in the overall real economic growth during the fourth quarter of 2020. More than 60% of the traded constituents extended gains this week which saw Qatar's industrial sector continued gain traction as it witnessed 2.4% jump month-on-month in the producer price index this February. Nevertheless, local and Gulf retail investors were increasingly net profit takers this week which saw the junior bourse of the QSE expected to be up and running in the next few weeks, providing an alternative route to market for the SME's that need the access to capital. The overall bullish momentum came amidst increased net selling by the Gulf and foreign individuals this week which saw Ooredoo's return to debt capital market with a $1bn issue. The Islamic index was seen gaining slower than the other indices this week which saw a total of 111,370 Masraf Al Rayan-sponsored exchange traded fund QATR valued at QR272,898 change hands across 17 transactions. Market capitalisation saw 2.92% increase to QR608.19bn, mainly on mid and small cap segments this week which saw a total of 488,450 Doha Bank-sponsored QETF valued at QR5.09mn trade across 70 deals. The telecom index tanked 5.42%, banks and financial services (3.39%), real estate (3.3%), industrials (2.57%) and transport (2.14%); while insurance declined 0.71% and consumer goods and services (0.49%) this week which saw Qatar's ports sector witnessed increased general cargo, container volumes in March this year. Major gainers included Ooredoo, Industries Qatar, QNB, Vodafone Qatar, QLM, Qatar Electricity and Water, Qatar Islamic Bank, Commercial Bank, Masraf Al Rayan, Al Khaliji, Gulf International Services, Nakilat, Inma Holding, Dlala, Mannai Corporation and Gulf Warehousing this week which saw the QSE chief executive Rashid bin Ali al-Mansoori view considerably improvement in the transparency and disclosure after the listed companies announced their fourth quarter results using through Q-Disclosure system. Nevertheless, Al Meera, Aamal Company, Qatari German Medical Devices, Qatar National Cement, Qatari Investors Group, Qatar Insurance, Doha Insurance and Mazaya Qatar were among the losers this week which saw the industrials and banking sectors together account for more than 58% of the trading volume. The industrials sector accounted for 40% of the total trading volume, banks and financial services (19%), consumer goods and services (17%), real estate (14%), telecom (5%), insurance (3%) and transport (2%) this week. In value, the banks and financial services sector's share was 34%, industrials (25%), consumer goods and services (16%), realty (11%), telecom (6%), insurance (5%) and transport (4%) this week. Foreign funds' net buying increased substantially to QR343.76mn compared to QR4.76mn the previous week. The Arab institutions were net buyers to the tune of QR0.02mn against net sellers of QR0.12mn the week ended March 25. However, the local retail investors' net selling grew significantly to QR171.76mn compared to QR29.74mn a week ago. The Gulf individuals' net selling shot up considerably to QR58.74mn against QR24.18mn the previous week. The domestic funds were net sellers to the extent of QR48.08mn compared with net buyers of QR35.88mn a week ago. The Gulf institutions turned net sellers to the tune of QR41.39mn against net buyers of QR15.07mn the week ended March 25. The Arab individuals were net buyers to the extent of QR20.82mn compared with net buyers of QR0.4mn the previous week. The foreign individuals' net profit booking grew perceptibly to QR3.22mn against QR1.98mn a week ago. Total trading volume grew 5% 1.19bn shares, value by 25% to QR2.48bn and transactions by 15% to 52,223. The real estate sector's trade volume more than doubled to 169.44mn equities and value also more than doubled to QR273.97mn on 73% increase in deals to 5,918. There was 46% surge in the transport sector's trade volume to 26.79mn stocks, 37% in value to QR105.06mn and 46% in transactions to 3,630. The banks and financial services sector's trade volume soared 42% to 224.54mn shares, value by 61% to QR836.8mn and deals by 26% to 15,035. The market witnessed 39% expansion in the telecom sector's trade volume to 57.27mn equities, 45% in value to QR140.2mn and 4% in transactions to 2,734. However, the insurance sector's trade volume plummeted 33% to 37.22mn stocks, value by 23% to QR123.97mn and deals by 7% to 2,827. The consumer goods and services sector saw 24% plunge in trade volume to 199.8mn shares, 6% in value to QR386.45mn and 3% in transactions to 8,775. The industrials sector's trade volume tanked 10% to 472.15mn equities, whereas value was up 2% to QR611.98mn and 3% in deals to 13,304.  MENAFN02042021000067011011ID1101853695