satyendra Pathak
Doha
The Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) Index increased by 80.43 points, or 0.79 percent, during the week to close at 10,203.04 points. Market capitalisation went up by 1.1 percent, reaching QR591.6 billion from QR585.2 billion at the end of the previoustrading week.
Out of 52 traded companies, 43 ended the week higher, 8 ended lower, and one remained unchanged. The top performer was Qatar General Insurance & Reinsurance Company, which surged by 15.1 percent, while Qatar Fuel Company (QFLS) was the worst performer, dropping by 2 percent.
QNB Group, Masraf Al Rayan and Barwa Real Estate Company were the primary contributors to the weekly index gain. QNB added 35.71 points, Masraf Al Rayan contributed 17.12 points, and Barwa added another 9.62 points to the index.
The traded value during the week soared by 53.3 percent to reach QR2,008.1 million, up from QR1,310.0 million in the previous week. QNB Group was the top value-traded stock with a total traded value ofQR283.9 million.
Traded volume also saw a significant increase, rising by 56.6 percent to 826.3 million shares from 527.6 million shares the prior week. The number of transactions climbed 31.7 percent to 72,582 compared to 55,122 the previous week. Mazaya Real Estate Development led in traded volume with 99.8 million shares.
Foreign institutions turned bullish with net buying of QR2.6 million, reversing from net selling of QR22.7 million the previous week. Qatari institutions continued to be bullish with net buying of QR16.5 million, while foreign retail investors recorded net buying of QR6.0 million, shifting from net selling of QR1.2 million.
However, Qatari retail investors showed net selling of QR25.1 million, slightly up from QR24.5 million the week before, indicating a cautious stance in the market. Year-to-date, global foreign institutions have been net sellers by $18.7 million, while GCC institutions were net sellers of Qatari stocks by $315.7 million. Despite these trends, the overall market sentiment remains resilient, backed by strong performances from key sectors.
