EU Central Bank Decision Outweighed Deepseek’s Tsunami
| 31/01/2025 | 24/01/2025 | % Change | |
| BLOM Stock Index | 2,498.68 | 2,557.62 | -2.30% |
| Average Traded Volume | 38,115 | 33,543 | 13.63% |
| Average Traded Value | 618,541 | 1,075,100 | -42.47% |
| Market Cap | 25,609,384,012.74 | 26,213,403,744.44 |
The BLOM Stock Index (BSI) compiled by BLOM Invest Bank daily dropped weekly by 2.3% to 2,498.68 points on January 31st, 2025. This decrease is largely attributed to the difficulty of the newly elected Lebanese Prime Minister, Nawaf Salam, to form his cabinet.
On the Beirut Stock Exchange (BSE), the real estate sector dominated trading, accounting for 77.164% of the exchange’s total trading value, while the remaining were by the banking sector (17.180%) and industrial sector (5.656%). The most noteworthy trades throughout the mentioned period included:
| 31/01/2025 | 24/01/2025 | % Change | |
| Solidere A | 113.3 | 114.5 | -1.05% |
| Solidere B | 110.7 | 115 | -3.74% |
| HOLCIM Liban (prev.SCL) | 71.2 | 70.1 | 1.57% |
| CB (N) | 38 | 40 | -5.00% |
| Audi Listed | 2.9 | 3 | -3.33% |
| Bank of Beirut (C) | 9 | 15 | -40.00% |
| Byblos (C) | 1.25 | 1.28 | -2.34% |
| BLOM (GDR) | 5.3 | 5.4 | -1.85% |
| 31/01/2025 | 24/01/2025 | % Change | |
| BLOM Preferred Shares Index | 27.52 | 27.52 | 0.00% |
As for the BLOM Preferred Shares Index (BPSI), it remained constant at 27.52.
| Index | Currency | 31/01/2025 | 24/01/2025 | % Change |
| S&P 500 | USD | 6,071.17 | 6,101.24 | -0.49% |
| Dow Jones | USD | 44,882.13 | 44,424.25 | 1.03% |
| NASDAQ Comp | USD | 19,681.75 | 19,954.30 | -1.37% |
*Prices are as of the time of writing this report
US stocks fluctuated over the course of the week where S&P 500 and NASDAQ Comp decreased by 0.49% and 1.37% respectively to record 6,071.17 and 19,681.75, while Dow Jones increased by 1.03% to reach 44,882.13. The week started by a significant fall in US equities after the reveal of the Chinese AI application “Deepseek”. Reportedly, the new application produced is competitive to US counterparts however it consumes less power. Later on, on Wednesday, the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged which led to a rise in US equities.
| Index | Currency | 31/01/2025 | 24/01/2025 | % Change |
| DAX | EUR | 21,765.10 | 21,394.93 | 1.73% |
| FTSE 100 | GBP | 8,667.07 | 8,502.35 | 1.94% |
| CAC 40 | EUR | 7,963.55 | 7,927.62 | 0.45% |
| STOXX600 | EUR | 540.81 | 530.07 | 2.03% |
*Prices are as of the time of writing this report
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets increased this week after a fifth interest rate cut performed by European Central Bank (ECB) since June 2024 by 25 bps on Thursday. Moreover, ECB official signaled potential further cuts in the future. As such, STOXX 600 led the increase by 2.03% to record 540.81, followed by FTSE (1.94%), and DAX (1.73%).
| Index | Currency | 31/01/2025 | 24/01/2025 | % Change |
| NIKKEI | JPY | 39,572.49 | 39,931.98 | -0.90% |
| Hang Seng | HKD | 20,225.11 | 20,066.19 | 0.79% |
| Shanghai Comp | CNY | 3,250.60 | 3,252.63 | -0.06% |
*Prices are as of the time of writing this report
Asian markets mimicked the US equities and fluctuated this week, with the NIKKEI and Shanghai Composite indices dropped by 0.90% and 0.06% to reach 39,572.49 and 3,250.60. However, Hang Seng increased by 0.79% to reach 20,225.11.
| Index | Currency | 31/01/2025 | 24/01/2025 | % Change |
| MSCI Emerging Market | USD | 1,095.75 | 1,090.02 | 0.53% |
As for the MSCI Emerging Market index, it rose marginally this week by 0.53% to record 1,095.75 points.
| Index | Currency | 31/01/2025 | 24/01/2025 | % Change |
| S&P Pan Arab | USD | 1,024.53 | 1,020.84 | 0.36% |
| EGX30 – Egypt | EGP | 30,010.62 | 29,997.69 | 0.04% |
| Saudi Stock Exchange | SAR | 12,415.49 | 12,354.04 | 0.50% |
| Qatar Stock Exchange | QAR | 10,666.71 | 10,660.12 | 0.06% |
| Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange | AED | 9,577.35 | 9,563.94 | 0.14% |
| Dubai Financial Market | AED | 5,192.42 | 5,225.54 | -0.63% |
Similarly, Arab stock markets rose this week, with all major indices showing gains except for Dubai Financial market that declined by 0.63% to record 5,192.42. The Saudi Stock Exchange was up by 0.50%, the S&P Pan Arab index increased by 0.36%, and the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange rose by 0.14%.
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