Regional equity markets

Beirut SE   Current year high: 1,180.99    Current year low: 923.19 >  Review period: Closed March 24 at 934.33 points                             Period Change: -0.28% Beirut stocks inked an 18-month low on March 14, following a large demonstration in Beirut demanding Hezbollah’s disarmament. It also didn’t help that Premier-designate Najib Mikati remained unable to form a government. Still, stocks rebounded in the second half of the month following confirmations that no other banks in Lebanon would be targeted by the US Treasury Department following the merger of LCB and SGBL. Performance was mixed on the BSE, with Bank Audi ticking up 5.5% as Solidere and Byblos closed 2% and 2.1% lower, respectively. Amman SE   Current year high: 2,648.36                Current year low: 2,149.11 > Review period: Closed March 24 at 2,182.48 points                      Period Change: -3.1% In the absence of any notable supporting news, ASE stocks continued their trip south driven partly by