By: Eman Ghaly
Mubasher: The Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) closed in the green territory on Thursday on the back of FTSE Russell’s quarterly review, financial market analyst Ahmed Akl said.
The QSE’s general index rose 208.86 points, or 2.14%, to finish at 9,970.55 points on Thursday.
FTSE review
The QSE’s shares, especially blue-chip stocks, have witnessed high foreign investment inflows and soaring liquidity on Thursday, Akl noted.
Turnover leaped to QAR 1.43 billion on Thursday, from QAR 275.97 million in the previous session, while trading volume soared to 39.36 million shares, from 8.15 million on Wednesday.
Seven Qatari firms were added to the FTSE index including Mesaieed Petrochemical Holding, Qatar Fuel (Woqod), Qatar Insurance Company (QIC), Qatari Investors Group, Al khaleej Takaful Insurance, Qatar First Bank, and Widam Food, while Salam International Investment and Gulf Warehousing were removed from the index.
Real estate law
Qatar’s cabinet on Wednesday approved a draft law for identifying 10 locations where foreigners are allowed to own real estate, together with 16 areas that could be held for a period of 99 years, providing great incentives for investors, Akl indicated.
Attractive rates
Low stock prices were attractive following a series of losses which coincided with the continued approval of companies’ cash dividend distributions, bringing the general index below 10,000 points, the analyst explained.
The general index is facing resistance at 9,970 points, which if broken, the index will target 10,000 points, Akl added, noting that the current support levels are 9,800 points and 9,700 points.
Financial results
The disclosure of 37 out of the total 46 listed companies’ 2018 financial results and the approval of high cash dividend distributions have supported the QSE’s positive performance, Akl indicated.
Profits of 37 firms rose 11.5% to QAR 41.01 billion in 2018, from QAR 36.79 in the prior year.
The analyst expected the QSE to witness a robust increase over the next period, especially by the end of the first quarter of 2019, noting that listed companies are projected to record positive results.
Translated by: Zeinab Adel
