The BLOM Stock Index (BSI) rose by a weekly 0.91% this past week to reach 1,173.86 points on February 2, 2018. Accordingly, the market capitalization increased from $11.47B to $11.60B, this week.
In fact, an average of 194,815 shares worth $1.89M were traded compared to an average of 224,350 shares worth $987,495 traded in the previous week.
The S&P AFE40 registered a weekly rise of 0.39%; nonetheless, the S&P Pan Arab Composite Large Mid Cap Index and the MSCI Emerging Markets Index recorded weekly losses 0.54% and 1.17%, respectively.
Regionally, the Saudi Arabian Stock index and the Tunisian bourse registered the largest upticks during the week with respective increases of 1.79% and 2.15%. However, the Dubai and Abu Dhabi financial markets as well as the Qatari bourse fell by respective 1.63%, 0.67%, and 2.67%.
On the BSE, the real estate sector grasped 61.2% of total traded value while the banking and manufacturing sectors represented the remaining 38.7% and 0.1%.
In the real estate sector, Solidere A and B shares rose by 3.41% and 3.68% to $8.50 and $8.45, respectively.
In the manufacturing sector, Ciments Blancs Nominal shares recorded a weekly increase of 12.78% to stand at $2.56
In the banking sector, BLOM Bank’s GDR shares and Bank Audi Listed shares fell by 1.16% and 1.50% to $12.75 and $5.9, respectively. However, BLOM listed shares and Audi GDR shares rose by 4.35% and 0.68% to reach $12 and $5.90, respectively. Byblos Bank listed shares fell 1.23% to $1.60.
As for the BLOM Preferred Shares Index (BPSI), it recorded a 0.08% rise to reach 106.44 points on account of the 0.29% weekly increase in the share price of Bank Byblos’s preferred 2009 shares which settled at $103.
On the London Stock Exchange, BLOM Bank’s GDR shares fell by 1.55% over the week to reach $12.70.
The performance of the Lebanese bourse this week was highly affected by the release of the unaudited financial statement of commercial banks. In fact, the net profit of the four largest banks recorded an annual increase of 1.8% to $1.32B.