Doha, Feb 22, 2026, 10:58 (GMT+3) — Regular session
- QE Index slips 0.4% by mid-morning. QLM and Al Meera top the gainers, while Qatar Oman Investment and QNB sit among the laggards.
- FTSE Russell’s March reshuffle will see Zad Holding bumped into the micro cap category, while Qatar National Navigation & Transport is out of mid-cap. The changes kick in at the open on March 23.
- Aamal said its joint venture plans to enter talks to acquire Qatar International Cables, as the QSE prepares for an index-weight cap on Feb. 26.
Qatar’s stock market edged lower Sunday, with investors reacting to headlines about an upcoming index review and a new corporate deal on the radar ahead of a week filled with possible benchmark changes. By mid-morning, the QE Index had dropped 0.4% to 11,182. QLM and Al Meera each climbed roughly 3%, but Qatar Oman Investment and QNB landed among the session’s steepest fallers.
Why now: In a thinly traded market, traders often jump on index review signals ahead of the official date, since passive flows can shift prices fast. Qatar Stock Exchange said FTSE Russell’s March semi-annual review will see Zad Holding Company join the micro-cap segment, while Qatar National Navigation & Transport drops out of the mid-cap group. Both changes hit at the open on March 23.
FTSE’s latest review cuts Dlala Brokerage & Investment Holding Co., Inma Holding, and Qatar Oman Investment Company from its micro-cap category, according to a notice. The changes could shift again up until March 6, but will lock in as “final” from March 9. For index-tracking funds, these adjustments often trigger buying or selling activity around the rebalance. DLA Broker
Aamal reported that its joint venture, Senyar Industries Qatar Holding, plans to enter talks to buy Qatar International Cables Company, a manufacturer based locally. The parties haven’t revealed any numbers yet, so it’s unclear if negotiations will result in a definitive agreement.
Markets kicked off the week with investors still processing last week’s drop. QNB Financial Services reported that the Qatar Stock Exchange shed 286.75 points—or 2.5%—to finish at 11,229.06 for the week ending Feb. 19. Market capitalisation also dipped 2.5%, landing at QR669.4 billion.
The week’s index lagged as Qatar Islamic Bank, Industries Qatar, and Ooredoo pulled it lower, according to the report. Qatar Cinema & Film Distributing advanced 9.9% over the week, while Medicare Group slipped 7.7%.
Trading volumes lost steam as well. Weekly value traded slipped 11.5% to QR2.03 billion, based on the report, despite foreign institutions picking up a net QR70.5 million in Qatari shares.
Looking at the week ahead, QNBFS noted that the QSE index committee’s March quarterly review won’t change the index’s constituents; stocks closing above a 15% weight as of Feb. 26 will be capped, with any surplus weight redistributed. The firm also pointed to QNB Group’s QR1 billion, one-year bond listing on the QSE, which carries a 4% annual coupon. QSE CEO Abdulla Mohammed Al-Ansari described the bond’s debut as “a key milestone,” while QNB CEO Abdulla Mubarak Al-Khalifa said it “reflects” the group’s disciplined approach to funding. qnb.com
Another move on the local liquidity front hits just ahead of that. Qatar Securities will begin liquidity-provider operations for Al Mahhar on Feb. 25, the exchange news feed reports via Dlala Brokerage. A liquidity provider gets paid to post continuous buy and sell quotes—typically helping narrow the spread and smoothing out trading.
This week’s action isn’t driven solely by domestic factors. Geopolitical tensions are still shaping sentiment in the Gulf, especially after U.S. President Donald Trump told Iran it faces “bad things” without a nuclear deal in the next 10 to 15 days. Oil prices slipped around 0.4%, settling at $71.38 a barrel on Friday. A sudden escalation could drain risk appetite fast—even though higher oil can sometimes lift energy-linked stocks. Reuters
Feb. 26 marks the next hard stop: that’s when QSE’s index cap rules kick in, giving traders a sharper sense of how much portfolio shifting lies ahead heading into March. From there, focus pivots to Aamal’s ongoing negotiations and any tweaks to the FTSE review list before its expected finalization on March 9.
