Regional equity markets

Beirut SE   Current year high: 886.37       Current year low: 882.02 >  Review period:  Closed August 26 at 886.37 points     Period Change: -3% Investors found little time for Beirut stocks in a tumultuous month for international equity markets and amid escalating events in Syria. Trade volumes were unusually low even by Ramadan standards and proved as uninspiring as this summer’s tourist numbers. The affirmation of Lebanon’s credit rating by Moody’s with a stable outlook meant little to Solidere investors who were bitten by a 19 percent decline in property sales in the first half of 2011. Shares of the real estate developer plummeted 6.8 percent to a 2-year low of $15.85, while banks came in slightly ahead of the market. Amman SE   Current year high: 2,477.99                Current year low: 2,03.71 >  Review period:  Closed August 25 at 2,028.1 points     Period Change: -2.6% Amman stocks watched from the sidelines as neighboring equity