The Group Securities: Weekly Report on QSE Performance, 1-5 April 2018

General Index Up 2.55% to 8793 Points

Amid successive developments -such as the increase in the minimum foreign ownership ratio to 49% in Mesaieed, Woqod and Gulf International Services, and the consequent demand for the shares of the three companies- the performance of the stock market improved in terms of trading volume, which rose to QR1.26 billion at an average of QR253.3 million. The general index rose by 2.55%, while Al Rayan index gained 1.33%. The total capitalization increased by about 14.2 billion, and the price-to-earnings ratio rose by a multiple of 12.59. On the other hand, the share prices of 20 companies increased, while the rest 22 companies witnessed their share prices decline.

In depth, the General Index increased by 219 points or 2.55%, to the level of 8793 points, while Al Rayan Index rose by 1.33%. During the week, six Sector Indices increased, namely Goods & Services, Industry, and Banks. It has been noticed that the share price of Zad Holding recorded the biggest loss with a 16.8% drop, followed by Doha Insurance by 11.8%, Milaha by 5.6%, Investment Holding by 3.95%, and Doha Bank by 2.96%. In contrast, the share price of Gulf International Services recorded the biggest win with a 10% hike, followed by Commercial Bank by 8.5%, Woqod by 8.1%, Vodafone by 6.6%, and finally QIB by 6.2%.

Total trading volume increased by 23% during the week to QR1266 million, consequently the average daily trading went up to QR253.3 million. Mesaieed led the traded shares with a volume of QR117.4 million, followed by the share of QIB with QR114.3 million, Vodafone with QR103.9 million, and then Woqod with QR100.4 million. It was noticed that Qatari portfolios made net sales worth QR134.2 million, against net purchases of QR75.1 million made by non-Qatari portfolios. Qatari individuals made net purchases of QR51.1 million, and non-Qatari individual investors made net purchases worth QR8 million. As a result, QSE’s total capitalization increased by QR14.2 billion to reach QR484.7 billion. P/E ratio climbed to a multiple of 12.59 compared to 12.22 a week earlier.

Corporate News:

1.      Mesaieed, Gulf International Services, and Woqod announced the increase of non-Qatari ownership ratio from 25% to 49%.

2.      The sale of the foreign partner's stake in Vodafone to Qatar Foundation was completed in its entirety on March 29. Consequently, Qatar Foundation’s direct and indirect ownership in Vodafone Qatar's capital has increased to 50%.

3.      Investment Holding and Dlala General Assembly meetings approved that no dividends will be distributed to shareholders for 2017.

4.      Islamic Insurance announced that it will disclose its first quarter financial statements on April 16, Commercial Bank set April 17, Al Ahli and Al Khaliji scheduled the disclosure on April 19, Salam on 23, QIMC and Ooredoo on 25, and finally Woqod and Alkhaleej Takaful on April 29.

5.      Standard & Poor's has affirmed Qatar Islamic Bank's credit rating at A-. The agency attributed this to the fact that the bank is the second largest bank in Qatar, with good financial performance and strong capital.

Economic Developments:

1.      OPEC oil dropped until Wednesday, March 4, by US $1.57 to US $64.48 per barrel, compared to the previous month’s price tag of US $66.05 per barrel. Qatar Petroleum announced a drop of about a quarter of a US dollar in the price of Qatari land crude oil in March to US $65.25 a barrel.

2.      Dow Jones index gained 402 points to go up to the level of 24505 points until closing on Thursday. U.S. dollar settled at $1.22 against the euro, and it rose by ¥1.1 against the yen to ¥107.31 per dollar. Gold rose by US $3 to the level of $1330 per ounce.