The BLOM Stock Index (BSI) compiled by BLOMInvest Bank on a daily basis declined by 0.71% over the week ending August 28, 2020 to reach 593.33 and the Market capitalization on the Beirut Stock Exchange (BSE) retreated by 0.71% to reach $6.08B on August 28. Meanwhile the average volume and value of trades this week totaled 53,997 shares worth $538,200 traded, compared to 58,894 shares worth $450,617 traded last week.
Regionally, the major Arab indices rose this week. In details the S&P AFE 40 , S&P Pan Arab Composite Large Mid Cap Index and the MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose weekly by 0.85% , 0.92% and 3.39%. In the Arab World, the bourses of Egypt, Bahrain, Qatar and KSA were the week’s top gainers adding 2.71%, 1.89% , 1.19% and 0.20%
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 95.59%. The banking and retail sectors in their turn grasped the remaining share of 4.08% and 0.33%, respectively. The most noteworthy trades throughout the week included:
As for the BLOM Preferred Shares Index (BPSI), it rose this week by 2.20% to reach 61.32 bps. This was mainly due to the 12.39% weekly increase of Audi Preferred I shares to reach $44.90.
On the London Stock Exchange, only Audi and BLOM GDR shares traded this week, increasing by 5.51% and 3.85% to reach $0.36 and $1.35 per share by August 28 2020.
The coming week should be interesting because the French President will be visiting Lebanon early in the week. The visit will involve discussions on a new government formation and economic reform plan. If all goes well, it should reflect positively on the stock market.