QNB Report

The Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) saw a slight increase, rising by 60.35 points or 0.6% to 9,824.49 points. The market capitalization also saw a small boost, growing by 0.8% to QR591.5bn from the previous week's QR586.8bn. Out of the 54 companies traded, 29 ended higher, 2 remained unchanged, and 23 closed lower. Qatari Investors Group (QIGD) led the pack with a 14.8% gain, while Damaan Islamic Insurance (BEMA) was the worst performer, down by 5.3%.

Industries Qatar (IQCD), Qatar Islamic Bank (QIBK), and Ooredoo (ORDS) contributed significantly to the index's rise, adding 25.65, 16.27, and 14.58 points to the index, respectively. The traded value during the week declined by 28.4% to QR1,797.8mn compared to QR2,512.3mn in the previous week. Baladna (BLDN) emerged as the top value stock, with a total traded value of QR277.5mn.

Traded volume increased by 14.8% to 821.5mn shares, compared to 715.4mn shares in the prior week. However, the number of transactions decreased by 6.6% to 102,781, down from 110,092 in the previous week. Foreign institutions turned bullish, ending the week with net buying of QR63.5mn, a stark contrast to their net selling of QR127.8mn in the previous week.

On the other hand, Qatari institutions turned bearish, with net selling of QR137.1mn against their net buying of QR96.7mn in the prior week. Foreign retail investors ended the week with net selling of QR9mn, while their Qatari counterparts ended with net buying of QR82.5mn. Global foreign institutions held a net bearish position of $41.0mn YTD, while GCC institutions were also net sellers by $21.2mn.

Despite a slight increase, the QSE index remains below the psychologically significant 10,000 level for the fourth consecutive week, which could lead to profit-taking and potentially test the 9,700 level. If the index sustains weakness below this level, it could further drop towards 9,550. Conversely, trading above 10,050 might provide some respite for the index.