| 24/2/2023 | 17/2/2023 | % Change | |
| BLOM Stock Index | 1,556.132 | 1,502.570 | 3.56% |
| Average Traded Volume | 14,399 | 10,327 | 39.43% |
| Average Traded Value | 886,251 | 430,866 | 105.69% |
This week, the BLOM Stock Index (BSI) compiled by BLOMInvest Bank on a daily basis recorded a jump of 3.56% to reach 1,556.132 on February 24, 2023. The market capitalization on the Beirut Stock Exchange (BSE) increased weekly from $15.40B to $15.94B. The average volume and value of trades also totaled 14,399 shares worth $886,251 compared to 10,327 shares worth $430,866 last week.
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 99.03%, while the industrial and banking sector grasped the respective shares of 0.88% and 0.08%. The most noteworthy trades throughout the mentioned period included:
As for the BLOM Preferred Shares Index (BPSI), it remained constant at 41.01 by February 24, 2023.
In the Arab region, Major bourses retreated this week due to lower oil prices. As such, S&P Pan Arab index down by 2.91% on a weekly basis and stood at 889.79 by February 24 while MSCI index declined by 2.31% to reach 987.74 compared to 1011.14 last week. Meanwhile, the bourse of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and UAE contracted each respectively by 3.75%, 1.54% and 1.46% by the end of this week. However, the bourse of Morocco and Bahrain added 0.34% and 0.18%, respectively, by the end of week February 24, 2023.
As for the U.S equity market, the market remained volatile during the course of the sessions and ended the week on a negative territory. The confusion in the market was likely driven by investors’ capture for the surprising drop in jobless claims while a steep and unexpected decline in consumer expenditure led to a downward revision in the estimate for economic growth. As such, the S&P 500 and NASDAQ decreased by 1.91% and 2.24% on a weekly basis to stand at 4,012.32 and 11,590.40 respectively by Friday February 24, 2023.
Concerning the European market, major indexes slipped amid economic releases and earnings. CAC 40 slightly dropped by 0.32% on a weekly basis to end the week at 7,283.92 down from last week 7,307.15 while FTSE 100 recorded an insignificant decline of 0.77% to stand at 7,924.93. Contrary to European stocks, DAX edged slightly higher by 0.17% to reach 15,393.66 by the end of February 24, 2023 despite that the German economy contracted by 0.4%, more than expected at the end of 2022. Meanwhile, Japanese stocks dropped by 0.22% to stand at 27,453.48 by Feb 24, 2023 in light to higher inflation which accelerated beyond 4% and set a fresh four-decade high for Japan.