The BLOM Stock Index (BSI) compiled by BLOM Invest Bank daily increased weekly by 3.7% to reach 1,965 on September 13th, 2024.
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 97.28%, while the banking sector came next with a 2.72% stake. The most noteworthy trades throughout the mentioned period included:
As for the BLOM Preferred Shares Index (BPSI), it remained constant at 27.78 on September 13th, 2024.
Moving to the global markets, U.S. stocks recovered this week from last Friday’s setback. Nasdaq Composite index jumped by 5.27% this week to USD 17,570 leading US stocks’ rally, followed by S&P 500 and Dow Jones that rose by 3.46% and 1.86% respectively to USD 5,408 and USD 40,345. The surge was supported by economic data that cleared the way for the Fed to cut rates in its next meeting. Consumer Price Index increased by 2.5% YOY in August, the lowest level since February 2021. Similarly, the Producer Price Index rose last month by 1.7% YOY compared to a 2.1% increase in July 2024.
Across the Atlantic, Europe stocks got a boost from the European Central Bank’s decision to cut rates by 0.25% to 3.5%. Dax, the German index, increased by 1.67% and the European index Stoxx 600 rose by 1.49%. In France, inflation had a downward revision to 1.8% in August 2024, the lowest inflation level since July 2021, compared to an initial estimate of 1.9% and 2.3% in July. The French index CAC 40 reacted by increasing 1.41% weekly to EUR 7,352.
In Asia, the Shanghai Composite index dropped 2.23% on a weekly basis to close at CNY 2,704 on Friday, its lowest level since early February 2024. This decline is attributed to investors reducing their investments in the Chinese markets as it will be closed on Monday and Tuesday for the Mid-Autumn Festival. Contrarily, the Japanese index NIKKEI rose 0.52% this week to JPY 36,582, despite having reversed its course today after the yen strengthened as Japanese Central Banks’ board member Naoki Tamura said that the BOJ must raise short-term rates to at least around 1% through fiscal 2026.
As for the MSCI Emerging Market index, it scored some weekly gains and rose by 0.55% to reach USD 1,081.
In the Arab region, stock markets mainly slipped this week, except for Qatar Stock Exchange’s 0.73% increase, with the Saudi Stock Exchange index TASI and Egypt’s EGX 30 index leading this decline with respective decreases of 2.12% and 1.71%.
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