The BLOM Stock Index (BSI) rose by a weekly 0.06% to 1,155.46 points this Friday. During the week an average of 151,761 shares worth $1.57M were traded compared to an average of 170,306 shares worth $1.67M traded the week before.
The market capitalization also increased from last week’s $10.235B to $10.242B this week.
Regionally, the S&P Pan Arab Composite Large Mid Cap Index, the MSCI Emerging Markets Index and the S&P AFE40 increased by weekly rates of 0.01%, 0.42% and 0.27%, respectively.
In the Arab world, the bourses of Bahrain and Dubai gained 0.33% and 0.34% over the past week while the bourses of Qatar and Tunisia dropped by 2.04% and 0.77% over the past week.
On the BSE, the banking sector accounted for 51.19% of total traded value while the real estate sector and the industrial sectors represented respective shares of 46.74% and 2.07%.
In the banking sector, BLOM Bank’s GDR shares fell by 1.19% to $12.50. Bank Audi’s GDR shares slid by a weekly 0.83% to $5.95 while the bank’s listed shares gained 0.85% to end the week at $5.90.
Byblos Bank’s listed shares also gained 1.24% over the past week to close at $1.63.
On the London Stock Exchange, the GDRs of BLOM Bank and Bank Audi declined by 0.40% and 0.83% to stand at $12.55 and $5.95, respectively.
As for the BLOM Preferred Shares Index (BPSI), it slid by 0.05% over the past week to reach 105.31 points. Bank Byblos’ Preferred 2009 shares slid by a weekly 0.10% to $102.00 while Bemo Bank’s preferred 2013 shares gained 0.50% to $100.00.
In the real estate sector, Solidere A shares dropped by 0.25% to $8.01 while Solidere B shares steadied at $8.00.
In the industrial sector, Holcim shares fell by 1.82% to close at $13.50.
Over the past week, Lebanon passed the first budget in over decade, a move that is highly likely to boost investor sentiment in the country as a whole and on the Beirut Stock Exchange in particular.