| 28/01/20222 | 21/1/2022 | % Change | |
| BLOM Stock Index | 978.001 | 968.804 | 0.95% |
| Average Traded Volume | 64,340 | 43,462 | 48.04% |
| Average Traded Value | 1,156,280 | 959,331 | 20.53% |
This week, the BLOM Stock Index (BSI) compiled by BLOMInvest Bank on a daily basis re-picked 0.95% of its value to reach 978.001 on January 28, 2022. The Market capitalization on the Beirut Stock Exchange (BSE) witnessed an increase from $9.92B to $10.02B. The average volume and value of trades also totaled 64,340 shares worth $1,156,280 compared to 43,462 shares worth $959,331 last week.
In more details, this week was relatively flourishing for Lebanon as negotiations with IMF started on Monday and Gulf countries proposed conditions to restore trust with Lebanon while the country signed the Electricity deal with Jordan. However, this came at a time ex-PM Hariri declared his withdrawal from the next elections making his move a game changer for the upcoming period. Furthermore, in the latest World Bank Lebanon economic monitor report, the Lebanese economy was compared to a “zombie” economy as reforms have not been put on table due to our failed ruling elite.
Regionally, the major Arab markets following a global trend and witnessed a worsening performance this week. The MSCI index, the S&P Pan Arab and the S&P AFE 40 index all went down weekly by 5.07%, 0.70% and 0.23%, respectively. Meanwhile, in the Arab World, the bourse of UAE and Tunisia were the top gainers this week, and witnessed an increase by 0.62%, and 0.32%, respectively; note that UAE bourse went up in spite of the Houthis threat(see below). While Egypt, Qatar and Kuwait market, decreased this week by 1.84%, 0.82%, and 0.59%, respectively.
Important to note that Arab market witnessed several events this week. UAE observed threats from the Houthis to attach Dubai Expo if Yemen war is not halted as well as Houthis warned foreign companies to leave the country. However, the IMF declared in its latest report that GCC nations would benefit from the recovery in oil prices and register a growth but with divergent prospects.
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 95.80%, while banking and real estate sectors grasped the rest with stakes of 3.50%, and 0.70% respectively. 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.
This week, the BSE registered a slight increase backed by the Real Estate activity. Trading activity on Beirut Stock Exchange remains shy as Solidere picked up the bourse of Beirut and it is expected to be frail in the upcoming period waiting for further developments and improvements that might affect investor’s choice for trading. Interesting to note that higher solidere stocks coincided with a stable exchange rate in the parallel market.