The General Price Index (GPI) of the Amman Stock Exchange slipped to a historic level at the end of Tuesday's trading as a result of the decline of the shares of some banks and industrial firms, brokers said.
The bourse's daily bulletin showed that the price index closed at 132.5 points compared to 132.6 on Monday, or 0.07 per cent down. Tuesday's closing price index was the lowest since 1993.
The bulletin indicated that the bulk of the Tuesday's trading was recorded by the banking sector, with 42.7 per cent of the total turnover followed by the industrial sector with 31 per cent.
The banking sector lost 0.04 per cent of its price index while the industrial sector slipped by 0.18 per cent, the bulletin showed.
Shares of 24 firms recorded increase in their share prices while 16 firms registered decrease and 30 others remained stable.
A broker at the ASE said decline in the Arab Potash Company's share prices was among the reasons for the drop in the GPI.
The APC's share price slipped to JD3.13 compared to JD3.16 in the previous closing.
The broker, who asked not to be named, said the decline in the APC's share price was due to fear among investors that the mining firm failed to recover JD17 million from an insurance firm following the collapse of a multi-million dam the APC was constructing earlier this year.
“The insurance firm refused to pay the compensation for the collapse of the dam. That means that the APC will bear the loss which will be included in its annual budget at the end of the year,” the broker said.
During Tuesday's trading, supply of APC's shares failed to draw demand, which led to a decline in the share price, the broker said. — (Jordan Times)
By Tareq Ayyoub
© 2000 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
