The BLOM Stock Index (BSI) compiled by BLOMInvest Bank on a daily basis rose by 0.25% over the week ending August 21 2020 to reach 597.56, and the Market capitalization on the Beirut Stock Exchange (BSE) increased by a marginal 0.25% to reach $6.12B on August 21. Meanwhile the volume and value of trades this week totaled 58,894 shares worth $450,617M traded, compared to 60,101 shares worth $834,074M traded last week.
Regionally, the S&P AFE 40 and S&P Pan Arab Composite Large Mid Cap Index rose weekly by 2.49% and 2.03%. Meanwhile, the MSCI Emerging Markets Index declined weekly by 1.15%. The stock market rise can be mainly attributed to the rise in oil prices. In details, Oil prices climbed, on track for a third consecutive weekly gain, pulled higher by major oil producers’ efforts to hold back output amid concerns about economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. It followed that the top performing bourses over the week were UAE’s, Bahrain’s and Qatar’s which increased by 3.56% ,1.80% and 1.72% respectively.
On the Beirut Stock Exchange (BSE), Lebanon’s real estate sector grasped the lion’s share of the BSE’s trading value with a stake of 93.67%. The banking sector in their turn grasped the remaining share of 6.33%. The most noteworthy trades throughout the week included:
As for the BLOM Preferred Shares Index (BPSI), it remained unchanged closing the week at 60.00 points
Worth mentioning that Lebanon’s Blom Bank said on Tuesday it was looking to sell its subsidiary Blom Bank Egypt, and that the Egyptian central bank had given approval to begin the due diligence process. In the fact, the bank is trying to strengthen their finances as the country endures its worst financial crisis since the civil war.
On the London Stock Exchange, only Audi GDR shares traded this week, retreating by 17.16% to reach $0.338 per share by August 20 2020.