The Group Securities: Weekly Report on QSE Performance, 24-28 June 2018

General Index Exceeds the Level of 9000 Points

Qatar Stock Exchange has benefited from some important developments during the past week, including the raise of ownership of foreigners in Woqod to 49%, the signing of Barwa Al Sadd contract to purchase a stake in the Millennium Hotel, and Qatar National Cement’s provisional acceptance of all the parts of the mill No. 5. The market also benefited from the increase in oil prices on Wednesday and Thursday. The trading volume increased to QR1037 million, recording a daily average of QR207.4 million. These developments resulted in the rise of shares prices of 26 companies and the decrease of the shares prices of 18 companies. The general index climbed beyond the level of 9000 points, to 9024 points. Total capitalization increased by QR5.1 billion, to QR493.7 billion, and the P/E ratio stood at a multiple of 12.54.

In depth, the general index increased by about 101.5 points or 1.14%, to the level of 9024 points. The All Share index rose by 1.05%, while Al Rayan Islamic Index increased by 0.81%. Six sectoral indices increased, especially Goods, Telecommunication and Transportation. It has been noticed that the share price of Dlala was the top gainer, up by 16.8%; followed by Woqod by 6.59%, Ooredoo by 5.82%, Milaha by 4.86%, then Commercial Bank by 4.36%. In contrast, the share price of Qatar Cinema was the biggest loser, down by 2.25%; followed by Khaliji Bank by 1.65%, Islamic Holding by 1.61%, and Qatar-Oman by 1.6%.

Total trading volume rose to QR1037.2 million in a week, and the average daily trading rose to QR207.4 million. QNB led the traded shares with a volume of QR194.7 million, followed by the share of Woqod with QR134.5 million, Nakilat with QR79 million, and Vodafone with QR66.9 million, then Al Rayan with QR63.9 million. It was noticed that Qatari portfolios made net sales of QR17.5 million, while Non-Qatari portfolios made net purchases of QR10.8 million. Qatari individuals made total net purchases of QR10.8 million, whereas foreign individual investors made net sales of QR7.5 million. As a result, QSE’s total capitalization climbed by QR5.1 billion to reach QR493.7 million, and P/E ratio dropped to a multiple of 12.54 compared to 12.62 from last week.

Corporate News:

1-      Barwa Real Estate Co. announced that Barwa Al Sadd, its wholly owned subsidiary, has signed a contract to purchase 25% stake in the Millennium Plaza Hotel and the Health Club located in Barwa Al Sadd from Katara Hospitality at a price of QR167.2 million. The acquisition aims to strengthen Barwa's real estate portfolio and contribute to its sustainable growth and equity development.

2-      Qatar Central Securities Depository (QCSD) announced that it had amended the foreign ownership percentage in the shares of Qatar Fuel Company to become 49% of the company's capital, effective Wednesday, 27 June 2018.

3-      Qatar National Cement Company announced the provisional acceptance of the kiln and remaining parts of Plant No.5 (crusher and mill of raw materials, and the homogenizing part).The designed capacity of the kiln is 5000 ton per day. Accordingly the initial handover of the plant is concluded in full.

4-      Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) announced that it will disclose the bank’s financial statements for the period ending 30/06/2018, on Sunday 15/7/2018.

Economic Developments:

1-      In May 2018, Qatar’s foreign merchandise trade balance showed a surplus of about QR14.9 billion, i.e. an increase of about QR4.2 billion or 39.5% compared to May 2017, and an increase of QR0.1 billion or 0.5% compared to the previous month of April.

2-      Oil prices increased more than 2% on Tuesday, as Washington urged its allies to halt imports of Iranian oil, which would curb global supplies. Prices continued to climb in the transactions following price settlement after the American Petroleum Institute announced that crude oil inventories in the United States recorded a sudden drop of 9.2 million barrels, far exceeding expectations of a decline of 2.6 million barrels. Brent kept rising in transactions following price settlement to US $76.61 per barrel, while US crude rose to US $70.76 per barrel. OPEC oil price rose by about US $1.83 to US $74.31 per barrel until 27^th June, compared to US $72.48 a week earlier.

3-      Dow Jones fell by about 246 points to the level of 24216 points until closing on Thursday. US dollar stood still at $1.16 against the Euro, but rose against the yen to ¥110.61 per dollar. Gold dropped by about US $19 to US $1252 per ounce.