Financial Advisor to QNA: QIA's Initiative Will Attract More Foreign Portfolios to QSE

Doha, January 18 (QNA) - The Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) index concluded this week's trading losing 147 points to stand at 10,318 compared to last week's closing, under the pressure of five sectors.
   In a reading of the QSE performance during the current week, financial advisor Ramzi Qasmieh told Qatar News Agency (QNA) that despite the decline recorded by the QSE index during the current week, the Qatar Investment Authority's (QIA) initiative to launch active portfolios, in partnership with Ashmore asset management group, will have a positive impact on the performance of the index in the coming period, especially since it is one of the initiatives that aim to attract foreign portfolios and investments to the Qatari market.
   Qasmieh added that the QSE general index declined during the current week to approximately 1.4 percent, under pressure from the industrial sector in particular, which declined during the week by around 3.1 percent, while the performance of the communications and transportation sectors was in the green zone, as each of them rose by 3.3 percent and 0.13 percent respectively.
   The financial advisor pointed out that the levels reached by the QSE index during today's session represented the lowest level of the index since Dec. 21, 2023, as this closing came along with a high trading volume that reached QR 1.162 billion.
   He indicated that the decline in today's session was the result of the repositioning of some foreign portfolios in a pre-emptive move for the companies' annual results and the distributions to be disclosed during the coming period.
   Qasmieh attributed the decline to the pressure from the banking and industrial sectors, as the Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) shares fell by about 2 percent, Industries by 1.4 percent, and Al Rayan by 1.8 percent.
   The financial advisor stressed the importance of pointing out that traders are counting during the coming period on the industrial sector stock dividend announcements, which are expected to be rewarding and give momentum to trading during the coming period.
   He pointed out that it is important to note that the industrial sector during the week was exposed to some pressure with the decline in global commodity prices after the release of some Chinese economic data, which was lower than expected. (QNA)