Banking Stocks Boosted the Beirut Stock Exchange (BSE) this Past Week

The BLOM Stock Index (BSI) rose by a weekly 0.13% to 1,149.95 points this Friday.

On average, 1,114,087 shares worth $6.84M were traded during the week compared to 251,872 shares worth $2.13M last week.

The market capitalization also rose from last week’s $9.48B to $9.49B this week.

Regionally, the S&P Pan Arab Composite Large Mid Cap Index, the MSCI Emerging Markets Index and the S&P AFE40 Index all declined over the week by respective rates of 1.15%, 3.23% and 1.46%.

In the Arab world, the bourses of Kuwait, Bahrain and Tunisia dropped by 2.47%, 1.87% and 1.54%, respectively, while the Egyptian bourse was the sole gainer with a 1.41% weekly increase.

On the BSE, the banking sector accounted for 95.57% of total traded value while the real estate and industrial sectors represented 3.6% and 0.9%, respectively.

In the banking sector, BLOM Bank’s GDR and listed shares rose by 1.20% and 0.88% to end the week at $12.65 and $11.50, respectively. Meanwhile, Bank Audi’s GDR and listed shares dropped by 1.67% and 0.34% to $5.90 and $5.83, respectively. Byblos Bank’s listed shares slid by 0.62% to $1.60.

As for the BLOM Preferred Shares Index (BPSI), it added 0.05% over the past week to reach 105.30 points.  Bank Audi’s Preferred G shares added 0.50% to $101, Byblos Bank’s Preferred 2009 shares rose by 0.20% to $102.20 and Bank of Beirut’s Preferred J shares grew by 0.20% to $25.35. As for Bank Audi’s Preferred I shares, they slid by 0.20% to end the week at $101.00.

On the London Stock Exchange (LSE), BLOM Bank’s GDR shares gained 2.02% to $12.60 while Bank Audi’s GDR shares fell by 0.67% to $5.95.

In the real estate sector, Solidere A and B shares steadied at the respective prices of $8.00 and $8.02.

In the industrial sector, Holcim’s shares increased from $12.51 last week to $13.01 this week.

The minor uptick seen on the BSE this week might be short-lived with additional public workers’ strikes planned for the upcoming week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *