Regional equity markets

Beirut SE   Current year high: 1,200.49    Current year low: 991.49 >  Review period: Closed – June 22 at 1079.28 Points          Period Change: -1.5% The MSCI Lebanon index trended lower in a not overly dramatic fashion in the June 2010 review period, leaving all the excitement for Lebanon’s army of devoted football fans. When compared with its high of 1,180.98 points for the first half of 2010, the index softened by just over 100 points. However, the banking sector could show off another victory with a 31% y-o-y rise in its Q1 2010 aggregate net profit of the top 12 lenders. Market cap leader Solidere scored a goal of $189 million net profit last year in a stable performance. Amman SE   Current year high: 2,744.07                Current year low: 2,320.14 > Review period: Closed – June 23 at 2,388.94 points          Period Change: -0.5% Having just passed across a multi-year low