24/10/2014 | 17/10/2014 | % Change | |
BLOM Stock Index* | 1,160.84 | 1,169.79 | -0.76% |
Average Traded Volume | 85,790 | 181,434 | -52.72% |
Average Traded Value | 1,252,661 | 1,122,359 | 11.61% |
The Beirut Stock Exchange kept its downtrend for the second week in a row. The BLOM Stock Index (BSI) lost 0.76% to close at 1,160.84 points. The average traded volume went from 181,434 shares down to 85,790 shares, while the average traded value grew from $1.12M to $1.25M. As for the market capitalization, it narrowed by 74.69M since last week to $9.70B.
Globally, the equity markets bounced back from last week’s plunge. The BSI was outperformed by all of its regional peers where the S&P Pan Arab Composite Large Midcap Index, the S&P AFE40 Index, and the Morgan Stanley Emerging Index (MSCI) improved by 4.20%, 3.37% and 1.14% to 154.48 points, 71.13 points, and 981.75 points, respectively.
Among the Arab world, most financial markets recovered last week’s drop generally due to strong third-quarter earnings accompanied with a supportive global environment. Dubai’s bourse was in the lead, increasing by a weekly 7.09%, mainly due to Emirates NBD (ENDB) and Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), which reported strong profit growth. Saudi Arabia’s stock exchange and Qatar’s bourse followed, rising by 6.47% and 4.05%.
In contrast, the BSE was the worst performer, followed by Bahrain’s financial market falling by 0.69% and Tunisia’s stock exchange that dropped by 0.14%. Worth noting, these three financial markets were the only markets to end this week in the red.
Back to the BSE, the banking sector contributed for around 87.63 % of total traded value and was followed by the real estate sector and the industrial sector with shares of 12.33% and 0.04%, respectively.
In the banking sector, the listed shares of Byblos and that of BEMO lost 1.23% and 1.14% to close at $1.61 and $1.73, respectively. Meanwhile, the Global Depositary Receipts of Audi added 1.15% to $6.17.
On the other hand, the BLOM Preferred Stock Index (BPSI) posted a minor uptick of 0.08% to 104.98 points. This was triggered by the 0.10% increase in each of Byblos’ preferred 08 and 09 shares to close at the same price of $100.90.
Solidere shares class “A” and “B” remained on their downtrend for the third week, losing 2.86% to $11.55 and 3.63% to $11.41, respectively.
In the industrial sector, HOLCIM shares dropped 3.23% to reach $15.00.
The BSE activity might turn back to positive performance with third-quarter banks’ earnings expected to be released during the coming week.