Barwa & IQ outperform GCC equities in January

05/02/2018 06:02 AST

Qatar's Barwa Real Estate and Industries Qatar (IQ) have emerged as top performers among GCC equities during the month of January 2018. Barwa outperformed GCC equities after surging 19 percent, according to Al Rayan Investment's global market snapshot for the month.

The QSE-listed Industrial bellwether Industries Qatar (IQ) is the third top performer in GCC market. IQ surged 13 percent in January.

Qatar's market cap stood at $135.3bn at the end of January; and the benchmark index rose by 12.7 percent in three months, outperforming the regional markets. The index gained 681.24 points or 7.99 percent in January, compared to the previous month as market cap rose by 6.30 percent.

Barwa's value rose by 5.57 percent by the end of January. The top performers on QSE during the month in terms of traded value were QNB(10.25 percent), Masraf Al Rayan (8.46 percent), Qatar First Bank (5.86 percent) and UDC (5.23 percent).

On QSE, Barwa jumped 18.75 percent and IQ soared 12.99 percent. UDC another key gainer advanced 18.22 percent. The index ended on a weaker note yesterday, declining by 2.69 percent, along with the regional pullback. The sell-off is mainly in response to Friday's tumble on Wall Street.

According to local market watchers, Qatari market is happily turning its attention to the launch of two exchange traded funds (ETFs), which are expected to hit the market soon. Market experts expect these funds will be a game changer in Qatari market, providing a distraction from the post-blockade slump. "The good news is that the short term trend remains up. That been said, the potential for further correction has increased", QNBFS analysts said yesterday.

"It should be noted that as per moving average convergence divergence's (MACD) outlook, we should wait for a reversal on the dip to start going long", QNBFS noted in its 'daily technical trader note'. MACD is a trend-following momentum indicator that shows the relationship between two moving averages of prices.

The Peninsula