Unusual retraction in Solidere drove the BLOM Stock Index down to 886.72 points

Unusual retraction in Solidere drove the BLOM Stock Index down to 886.72 points

The BLOM Stock Index (BSI) compiled by BLOMInvest Bank on a daily basis decreased by 0.34% since April 9, 2021 to reach 886.72 on April 16,2021. The Market capitalization on the Beirut Stock Exchange (BSE) decreased from $9.12B to $9.08B on April 16, 2021. Moreover, the average volume and value of trades during the week ending April 16, 2021 totaled 86,307 shares worth $1,051,759, compared to 89,962 worth $1,778,819 during last week.

Regionally, the major Arab markets witnessed improving performance this week. In details, the S&P AFE 40 Composite index, and the S&P Pan Arab index both increased weekly by 0.66%, 0.29%. While the MSCI index decreased by 0.17%. In the Arab World, the bourse of Qatar, UAE, and Bahrain were the top gainers this week, they increased by 3.61%, 1.83%, and 1.29%, respectively. In contrast, the bourse of Tunisia and Egypt were the worst performers for this week declining by 1.38% and 0.25% each. Moreover, in Tunisia, as corona spread is intensifying, strengthens virus restrictions ahead of Ramadan were taken and new night curfew is applied even under the country’s difficult economic situation. In addition, competition has intensified between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in attracting foreign companies to invest in their countries especially after the UAE leaders announced that the Emirates’ first nuclear power plant started its commercial operations.

On the Beirut Stock Exchange (BSE), the real estate sector grasped the lion’s share of the BSE’s trading value with a stake of 90.73%, while the banking grasped 8.06% and industrial sector grasped the rest of share with 1.21%. The most noteworthy trades throughout the mentioned period included:

  • BLOM GDR shares soared by 23.60% to $3.30/share
  • AUDI GDR shares added 4.05% to $1.80/share
  • AUDI Listed shares dropped by 8.42% to $2.50/share
  • Byblos Listed went up by 15.71% to $0.81/share
  • Solidere (A) shares decreased by 0.21% to $24/share
  • Solidere (B) shares retracted by 2.20% to $23.96/share
  • Holcim shares increased by 9.33% to $16.40/share

As for the BLOM Preferred Shares Index (BPSI), it remained unchanged this week at 45.22 points.

This week, Beirut Stock Exchange (BSI) had slightly decreased due to the retraction in solidere stock prices. Conversely, the year is still being a good year for Solidere in terms of repairing its balance sheet and gaining traction for its stocks. On the whole, the positive trend should continue in the coming period due to the economy meltdown in the country; however the real estate sector in Lebanon would be one of the first sectors that would directly rebound once the situation stabilizes. Ironically, should the situation continue to deteriorate, this would be interpreted as a rise in both Solidere’s share as well as in the value of the real estate portfolio, as local dollars would lose their worth more.

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