Regional equity markets

 Beirut SE  (One month) Current year high: 1,200.49    Current year low: 705.56 The Beirut Stock Exchange recorded marginal index movements and abnormally high turnover in the first trading weeks of 2010, the latter due to a spike in big-scale bank selling and buying. The MSCI Barra Lebanon index closed at 1110.97 points on January 22, a drop of less than half a percent from the start of the year. The big turnover came from the sale of 7.5 million common shares in Bank Audi Group, which were sold by Egyptian investment bank EFG-Hermes in a $913 million divestment on the Lebanese and international bourses. Big bank deals also included one between Byblos Bank and the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation. The IFC bought 8% of Byblos Bank for $100 million on January 22. Turnover on the Beirut Stock Exchange soared to a daily average of $51 million, compared to 2009’s