Beirut SE: Shuaa (1 month)
Current Year High: 2,654.42 Current Year Low: 1,761.53
Given the persistent absence of a president and no end to the political crisis in Lebanon, the Blom index for the Beirut Stock Exchange can be noted for its close at 1,514.90 points on Mar 25 as a veritable improvement from 1,436.02 points at the end of last month. Against a backdrop of $119 million total traded value in all of January and February, the BSE in early March treaded on the lane of chronic pain with average traded value somewhere below $2 million per day in the first two weeks of the month. Buzz came from a new edition in merger discussions between Bank Audi and its Cairo-based shareholder, investment bank EFG Hermes. In mid-March, commercial banks got a nod of trust from Standard & Poor’s on account of their resilience. Reports of 23.6% growth in 2007 profits by the 11 banks with assets over $2 billion apiece also spread good cheer. The central bank could be satisfied with the successful close of a new $875 million Eurobond with yield of 9.25% that found favor mostly with local takers.
Amman SE (1 month)
Current Year High: 8,667.85 Current Year Low: 5,560.56
Dropping below 8,000 points for the first time since February 20, the Amman Stock Exchange in March could not sustain the strong upwards trading momentum it had displayed in the first two months of 2008. The ASE Index’s close at 7,883.04 points on Mar 25 signified a slide of 784.81 points, or 9%, from a year high on Mar 16 even as the index on Mar 25 was still 5.8% better than at the start of 2008. The industrial sector, which had led the market’s rise to Mar 16, showed the steepest drop among ASE sectors in the second half of the month but came out ahead of the other sectors with a 3.7% loss versus the end of February. Banking and services underperformed the general index in the monthly balance. Profit taking and decisions of foreign market participants influenced the ASE March downtrend after a hefty $31 million net increase in shareholding by regional and international investors had benefited the ASE Index in January and February. At end of February, the total foreign ownership of ASE-listed companies stood at 50.1% of market value.
Abu Dhabi SM (1 month)
Current Year High: 4,930.39 Current Year Low: 2,839.16
With a close at 4,605.52 points on Mar 25, down 4.4% on the month but still up 1.2% year to date, losses of the Abu Dhabi Securities Market Index in March amounted to just over half in percentage terms of the suffering of neighbor DFM. Energy and real estate/construction led the market down in the course of the month. Except for insurance, which was positive by a fraction, no sector closed Mar 25 higher than at the end of February. The banking, industry, and consumer sub-indices weakened slightly, between 1 and 2%. The ADSM had some notable numbers on growth in overall trading volume and trades by international investors in 2007 to report. Within a 148% increase in overall volume on the bourse, the participation of foreign investment climbed by over five percentage points, to 20.3% of total trade in 2007. According to numbers cited by investment firm MAC Capital Advisors, net foreign investment increased tenfold year-on-year to AED $2.7 billion at the end of 2007.
Dubai FM (1 month)
Current Year High: 6,291.87 Current Year Low: 3,658.13
Sometimes oversold, sometimes pressed down by international worries, the Dubai Financial Market index flattened a bunch of support levels and ended 8.3% down by its Mar 25 close of 5,467.74 points when compared with the end of February. Market movers on the DFM comprised mostly the usual players, the likes of Air Arabia, Dubai Islamic Bank, DFM.co, plus real estate stocks. Most sectors didn’t stray far from the general index, except for utilities, which lost 23.7% and materials, which was the sole shiner with a 37.7% climb on the month. National Cement rallied from $3.15 at the end of February to a new year high of $4.33 on Mar 25. Emaar Properties dropped back to the $3 range but analysts were not deterred in their substantially higher estimation of the stock’s worth. On top of the shakes from watching global markets and seeing the Fed cut US lending rates again, the DFM at the end of the review period took freight from potential regulatory action which by clamping down on margin trading could siphon off liquidity.
Kuwait SE (1 month)
Current Year High: 14,455.40 Current Year Low: 10,108.70
Almost 15% up on the year is not bad at all in first-quarter 2008 performance against that backdrop of global equity markets chills. The Kuwait Stock Exchange closed at 14,319.40 points on Mar 25, signifying a year-to-date gain of 14.02% that was surpassed in the region only by the Muscat Securities Market. The KSE Index hit a new historic peak at 14,455.40 on Mar 19 ahead of a long holiday weekend. On the month, the food sector dropped 4.98% and was the KSE’s main underperformer; services (+8.21%), non-Kuwaiti (+6.84%), and insurance (+4.14%) sub-indices outperformed. Analysts spotted a very positive factor for the bourse’s good development in the reduction of excessive tax burdens that foreign investors used to have to pay but other traders warned of artificial highs and imbalances in March trading patterns. The resignation of Kuwait’s cabinet on Mar 17 did not appear to shake to KSE much; however, financial market actors found their own bones to pick as they argued over competing plans to establish a Capital Markets Authority.
Saudi Arabia SE (1 month)
Current Year High: 11,895.47 Current Year Low: 6,861.80
The Saudi Stock Exchange evoked some unhappy reminiscences of performance in spring of 2007 as the Tadawul All Shares Index slumped 7.2% on the month and almost 15% year-to-date with its Mar 25 close of 9506.90 points. Unable to defend the 10,000 points level after Mar 4, the TASI’s slide was barely softened by a few up sessions, including a 1.45% rise on Mar 25. Insurance, agriculture, and services performed worst, losing between 15.7 and 10.2% from Feb 29 to Mar 25. Industrial and cement had the best showing by dropping 2.5 and 5.2%. Sabic traded on a sideways pattern in March. Hoped-for and new entrants provided moments of relief in the midst of all the nervousness: Mining giant Maaden’s 50% IPO got approval from the Council of Ministers in early March and is now expected to happen in 2008; similar hopes in 2006 and 2007 didn’t materialize. Zain Saudi Arabia, which started trading on Mar 22, dominated SSE volumes in its first days on the bourse.
Muscat SM (1 month)
Current Year High: 10,728.67 Current Year Low: 5,532.64
Edging up 0.1% in March by the 25th, the Muscat Securities Market had the period’s second best lease on good fortune after the KSE and could reinforce its top rank in year-to-date performance, where the general index close at 10,372.08 points was up 14.8% versus the start of 2008. In the first half of March, the MSM — appearing undeterred by factors such as global markets turmoil and intensifying recession talks in the US — rose to a new high of 10,728.67 but sellers weighed in from Mar 17. The industrial and banking sectors moderately outperformed the MSM general index in March while services underperformed. While global stock watchers ended March in discussing whether positive signs in leading equities markets were fake, it seemed that the disconnect of local and global was still intact in Oman this spring, different to the larger GCC exchanges.
Bahrain SE (1 month)
Current Year High: 2,889.22 Current Year Low: 2,106.70
Closing at 2785.84 points on Mar 25, fortunes on the Bahrain Stock Exchange edged 3.3% lower when compared with the last close in February. The investment and industrial sub-indices weighed in on the downside with drops of 6.5 and 5.3%; banking and insurance managed to keep their heads just above the waterline with gains of 1.2 and 0.4% in course of the month. Trading ex-dividend, market cap leader Ahli United Bank moved south in March; it distributed 14% cash dividend and 10% bonus shares on Mar 4. Taking a look back at 2007, the BSE announced that combined profits of listed companies last year went past the $2.655 billion mark, up from $2.1 billion in 2006. Looking forward, the BSE in late March signed a memorandum of understanding with the Dubai Financial Market under intents of increasing period exchange of information and enhance general collaboration between the two securities markets.
Doha SM: Qatar (1 month)
Current Year High: 10,718.78 Current Year Low: 5,944.03
The worst March of the GCC bourses was given to the Doha Securities Market. Its index receded 9.2% from the beginning of the month to a close of 9511.52 points on Mar 25, eradicating gains of January and February. The industrial index led the market down with a drop of 15.6%, followed by banking. Insurance and Services were hit less hard, recording index losses in the 5% bracket. Heavyweight Industries Qatar dropped 17% from Feb 28 to Mar 25. IQ, which achieved 38% higher profits in 2007 versus 2006, distributed a 40% dividend and 10% bonus shares on Mar 19, Trading in Doha Bank throughout the period was under the influence of its announced 40% cash dividend and 20% bonus shares issuance on Mar 24; the scrip shed 9.8% the following day. On the regulatory front, Qatar’s central bank reportedly has long-term plans to spin off its supervisory arm and merge it with the regulator for the Qatar Financial Center into a financial services authority.
Tunis SE (1 month)
Current Year High: 2,708.36 Current Year Low: 2,436.94
The Tunisian stock market pointed slightly downwards in March and closed at 2,664.92 points on Mar 25, compared with 2682.34 points on Feb 29. Inverse to most other exchanges around the region, the Tunisian bourse had an intra-month low phase around Mar 7 to 12. Each closing Mar 25 almost 5% lower on the month, the sub-indices for industrial and financial services companies underperformed the market index. Whereas the consumer goods sector also underperformed, the financial companies index was ahead of the other sectors and closed 0.8% up on Mar 25 vis-à-vis Feb 29. Curio: After a trading hiatus of almost four months, the share price of insurer Astree traded up 57.2% on Mar 25, at volume of 150 shares, when compared with its preceding price determination at TND 47 in a 122-shares transaction on Dec 3, 2007.
Casablanca SE All Shares (1 month)
Current Year High: 14,925.99 Current Year Low: 10,975.78
Early March spring feelings ruled for a while on the Casablanca Stock Exchange, followed by a bout of fatigue. A week-long 655-point rally resulted in a new index record of 14,925.99 points on Mar 13; the market closed at 14,693.25 on Mar 25. Year to date, the Casablanca market leads all MENA markets with a 15.74% gain one week shy of completing the first quarter. Of the three largest companies by market capitalization on the Moroccan bourse, Maroc Telecom and Attijariwafa Bank both went lower after mid month while real estate group Addoha traded sideways on the high price level to which the stock had risen in early March. Sonisad, a manufacturer of metal rods and cables and the exchange’s number 10 by market cap, rose steeply to $550 per share on Mar 25 from $473 on Mar 11.
Cairo SE: Hermes (1 month)
Current Year High: 101,045.70 Current Year Low: 63,232.26
Although the Hermes index for the Cairo & Alexandria Exchanges close at 96,826.67 on Mar 25 was only 572 points below its close from the month’s first trading session, this does not tell the entire story. Intra-month, the Egyptian bourse experienced a volatile ride, seeing a historic peak above 101,000 points on Mar 12 followed by a week-long nosedive of more than 5% before catching its breath and starting the month’s last week with a 1.5% rise. On the corporate side, Sawiris companies ruled the headlines. Orascom Construction Industries ended a month of flying in the $110 range with a humongous 43.9% drop on Mar 25 after paying the main chunk of its also humongous cash dividend. Orascom Hotels & Development announced it will traverse the Alps by creating a new Swiss holding company with listings in Zurich and Cairo. Uninhibited by the dollar peg obligations that forced US-aligned interest rate decisions at GCC central banks, the Egyptian central bank tightened money supply through hiking the interest rate 50 basis points on Mar 23 in response to inflation.
