In a bearish week for almost all Arab markets, the biggest loser was Egypt’s bourse having lost nine percent with the Hermes Financial Index plunging to 5,547.10 points, reported AFP news agency on Saturday, July 21. Since the beginning of the year, Egypt's stock market lost an accumulated 29.6 percent of its value. Overall, the trading week ended with two markets closing higher and eight lower.
While Lebanon’s BLOM index lost 3.8 percent to close on 1,694.50 points, Bahrain’s BSE and Jordan’s ASE index lost 1.1 percent and 0.8 percent to close on 1,698.21 points and 141.68 points respectively.
The Emirati bourse lost 1.4 percent as the NBAD index closed at 2,417.09 points. The drop was attributed to a lack of liquidity that characterizes the Gulf region in the summer months. The Jerusalem index of the Palestinians lost 1.3 percent closing at 160.15 points.
In Saudi Arabia, investors pessimism with regards to second quarter financial results for market leader SABIC, lead the NCFEI all-shares index down 0.9 percent to 2,400.41 points. Saudi Arabia Basic Industries Co. announced during the weekend that profits for the first six months of 2001 reached $400 million—representing a 27.1 percent drop compared to the corresponding period of last year.
The MSM index in Oman fell 0.5 percent to close at 168.95 points, while Morocco’s CSE index lost a mere 0.3 percent 618.41 points.
On the other hand, the 4.5 percent surge in Qatar Telecom shares lead the CBQ index 1.8 percent higher to close on 241.75 points. Since the beginning of the year, Qatar’s bourse rose a total of 14.3 percent. Tunisia’s Tunindex rose 1.5 percent to close at 1,339.07 points, as a result of the 5.1 percent surge in Tunis Air shares. –(MENA Report)
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
