| 8/10/2021 | 1/10/2021 | % Change | |
| BLOM Stock Index | 996.670 | 980.424 | 1.66% |
| Average Traded Volume | 47,821 | 93,416 | -48.81% |
| Average Traded Value | 1,136,198 | 649,602 | 74.91% |
Over the course of the past week: the BLOM Stock Index (BSI) compiled by BLOMInvest Bank on a daily basis increased by 1.66% reaching 996.67 on October 08, 2021. The Market capitalization on the Beirut Stock Exchange (BSE) witnessed an increase from $10.04B last week to $10.22B. The average volume and value of trades also totaled 47,821 shares worth $1,136,198 compared to 93,416 shares worth $649,602 last week.
On Thursday, after recent IMF talks are in the pipeline, “Switzerland’s Le Temps” declared that back in 2016, around 14 pages of the IMF assessment report were removed by Central Bank’s Governor’s intervention. However, Salemeh denied the news. Moreover, this week, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said that the committee responsible for following up on communications and negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) started its virtual meetings with the international fund.
On the equity side, the most traded stock on the BSE (Solidere A and Solidere B) continue to witness a spike to reach 30.05$/share and 29.83$/share on October 8th, as national currency recorded a depreciation against the dollar to hit again LBP/USD 19,000.
Regionally, the S&P AFE 40 index, and S&P Pan Arab increased weekly by 0.67%, and 0.43%; moreover, MSCI recorded an uptick by 0.01% this week. In the Arab World, the bourse of Saudi Arabia and Qatar were the top gainer this week, and witnessed an increase by 0.83%, and 0.44%, respectively. However, least gainers were UAE and Tunisia with a drop each of 2.57%, and 0.47%.
It is worth noting that Saudi Arabia was the top gainer this week as Saudi Public Investment Fund, a consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, has settled a deal to buy Newcastle United, the English football club, owning 80 percent of Newcastle for a deal worth of $408.6 million. Moreover, Saud Arabia’s Riyadh Season is preparing to host thousands of events across the capital, to begin on October 20 until March 2022.
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 96.59%, while banking sector grasped the rest with a stake of 2.76%, and industrial sector recorded 0.65%. The most noteworthy trades throughout the mentioned period included:
As for the BLOM Preferred Shares Index (BPSI), it remains the same at 44.99 by the end of this week.
No doubt that the stock market in Lebanon could suffer more, as we might see some listed banks exiting the market due to the restructuring plan. However, it could be a chance to reconsider the role of this market and to develop it by encouraging other qualified companies to enter the Lebanese stock market.