Beirut SE (1 month)
Current Year High: 3,470.63 Current Year Low: 1,761.53
The weakness of global stock markets transpired on the Beirut Stock Exchange mostly as a drop in trading volume which dwindled to a 1.25 million shares trickle in the trading week that ended Sep 19. The Blom Stock Index closed the period at 1737.60 points, compared with 1,794.17 points at the end of August. Political worries are a constant factor in the Lebanese market and one perceives them almost as market fundamental. The real disruptor of trading fun was the global financial crisis although its impact on the valuations of Lebanese stocks was much smaller than elsewhere in the region. Lebanon’s central bank reaffirmed that the banking system is impacted only in minimal form by the problems of global financial institutions and Fitch Ratings reaffirmed its B minus ratings view on Lebanon as stable. Solidere, which initiated a 10% dividends payout at the end of August, saw one massive trade on Sep 8 which lifted the scrip briefly back above $31. During the review period, Solidere moved from $29.11 to $29.54 on Sep 22, making it one of the regions’s best performing real estate stocks in the period.
Amman SE (1 month)
Current Year High: 5,043.72 Current Year Low: 3,088.85
The Amman Stock Exchange index gave up 11.65% from the start of September to its close at 3.861.37 points on Sep 18. Despite its losses, however, the ASE was among the privileged few bourses in the region and beyond which could report gains in the year to date period, in which the ASE is up 5%. Insurance, banking, and services sectors moved down in the period but managed to perform better than the general index; the industry index experienced a massive drop, going down more than 24%. The stocks of resource miners Jordan Phosphate Mines Co and Arab Potash Co came under heavy selling pressure, losing 30.64% and 23.02%, respectively. Observers attributed their weakening to withdrawal of foreign investors from the ASE in connection with international and regional market volatility. However, industrial stocks are still quoted significantly higher when compared with the start of 2008, mostly due to buying sprees of regional investors earlier in the year. Banking, insurance and services sectors by contrast have shown much less fluctuations over the longer period but fell back into negative territory in September when compared with Jan 1.
Abu Dhabi SM (1 month)
Current Year High: 5,148.49 Current Year Low: 3,458.84
The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange had no day that would invite satisfied smiles between the end of August and Sep 22 when it closed 9.04% down on the month at 4,014.47 points. During the entire period, the most positive performance by any sector on the ADX was a gain of not even 0.2% relative to the start of the month. The sector indices for consumer, banking, real estate, industry, and energy each lost more than 10% in the period under review. Construction and insurance showed stability in the upper realm of the market’s negative spectrum. Among four stocks which went more than 20% lower were two banks, one construction firm, and a hotel company. On the flipside, the bourse’s ratios were the most bargain-friendly of all GCC securities markets with a price to earnings ratio of only 10.45 times. The UAE central bank made an exceptional move of providing banks a $13.6 billion short-term lending facility to avert the threat of a lending crisis.
Dubai FM (1 month)
Current Year High: 6,291.87 Current Year Low: 4,162.97
The Dubai Financial Market closed at 4,200.53 points on Sep 22. It carried less volatility than its neighbor up in Qatar but lost 11.8% from the start of the month. After a few positive days and a 9.9% upswing on Sep 21, the last session of the review period saw the index fall over 2.5%, a reiteration of the motives of quick profit taking and general nervousness. The materials and telecom sector sub-indices kept their heads above water during the period; year-to-date, the materials sector is the DFM’s only positive performer. Mortgage lender Tamweel, whose former chief executive has been under investigation for embezzlement and breach of trust, was the DFM’s biggest loser with a 33.05% erosion of its share price. It was followed by investment bank Shuaa Capital, whose shares went down 23.6%. The crash of Lehman Bros caused tangible jitters in Dubai where an office of the failed investment bank was based.
Kuwait SE (1 month)
Current Year High: 15,654.80 Current Year Low: 12,039.00
The Kuwait Stock Exchange index closed at 13,140.40 points on Sep 22. But the day to watch was Sep 15, marking a red dawn over the entire GCC region. It was the markets, not some invasion by a communist superpower. But the picture certainly seemed worrisome enough on this day as the Kuwait Stock Exchange dipped into negative territory in its year-to-date performance. All GCC stock markets at that point were dripping red, both for the day and for the year. The KSE index recovered and returned into the green year-to-date with a gain of 4.63% by Sep 22. But the index still had to let go more than 9% over the review period. The parallel market sub-index traded sideways near the zero line, making it the outperformer of the period. Industry and investments were the sectors with the biggest losses. After the carnage of Sep 15, the Kuwait Investment Authority reportedly intervened with share buying which may have helped the KSE to return onto positive ground vis-à-vis the start of the year.
Saudi Arabia SE (1 month)
Current Year High: 11,895.47 Current Year Low: 7,216.71
The Saudi Stock Exchange suffered the greatest downward pressure of all GCC markets and closed at 7,461.14 points on Sep 22, nearly 15% down when compared with the end of August and 33.2% down from the start of the year. Departing from its positive performance of the previous month, selling prevailed almost unabated in the market that had evidently not forgotten its bad experiences from two years ago. Market cap heavyweight Sabic gave up 15.75%. No single sector escaped the maelstrom, with insurance coming out at the very bottom. Three insurance companies experienced the most severe selling pressure, each dropping around 40% of its market valuation like stones in the sector that was known for speculative share buying for some time. Blame for the Tadawul pains was attributed to foreign influences and the global crises of financial market actors.
Muscat SM (1 month)
Current Year High: 12,109.10 Current Year Low: 6,861.32
The performance graph for the Muscat Securities Market from Sep 1 to 22, 2008 showed a lopsided V whose left arm was longer than the right. Losing 8.11% over the period by its Sep 22 close at 8723.63 points, the MSM general index traveled as low as 7868.70 points in trading during the Sep 16 session. The industrial and banking sub-indices were locked to the general index with the closeness of tango steps while the services sub-index was the period’s relative over-performer. Telecom stocks were among the better regarded values. The National Detergent Co boiled 54.7% higher after a 10-for-1 stock split on Aug 31. Financial heavyweight Bank Muscat was in the period’s bottom group of performers with a share price loss of 24.29%.
Bahrain SE (1 month)
Current Year High: 2,902.68 Current Year Low: 2,490.91
The Bahrain Stock Exchange index closed at 2,569.74 points on Monday, Sep 22. This represents a slide of 5.79% in the September review period and a loss of 8.02% from the start of 2008 for the island kingdom’s bourse. After a 200-point free fall in the first half of September, the market looked up at the end of the period as it managed a 45-point climb over four sessions. The sub-index for hotel and tourism stocks, which entered September almost 24% improved from the start of the year, flat-lined until Sep 22 but this looked deliriously pretty against the backdrop of sagging by financial sub-indices on the BSE. Investment and banking stocks suffered from global markets disease and thus underperformed. Of listed companies, real estate investment firm Inovest and engineering contracting group Nass Corp were pushed down by 19.23% and 15.35%, respectively, followed by banks Salam and Ithmaar.
Doha SM (1 month)
Current Year High: 12,627.32 Current Year Low: 7,858.48
The Doha Securities Market displayed a fluctuation range of more than 2,900 points between the end of August and its close at 9,431.63 points on Sep 22, near its average index level for the period. Despite a rebound after the excess drop on Sep 15 and 16, the index scored a net loss of 9.7% in the time under review. The services sub-index was the DSM’s best performer, ending 5.8% down. Leasing company Alijarah, which had been on a downward trajectory since early June, closed the period at the head of the market with a 6% gain but only three stocks achieved a net gain by Sep 22. Real Estate companies UDC, QREIC, and Ezdan formed a trio of underperformers in a very rough phase of DSM history, closing 19.1%, 21.2%, and 29.3% lower.
Tunis SE (1 month)
Current Year High: 3,418.13 Current Year Low: 2,445.51
The bourse of Tunis achieved the rare feat of trading sideways when comparing its close at 3,340.79 points on Sep 19 with its start into the month. Nonetheless, intra-month the TSE had its moments of relative volatility, moving below 3,300 and above 3,400 points. Poulina Group, the exchange’s new heavyweight, slipped by 8.97% in the review period; when compared with its Aug 2008 issue price of TND 5.95 ($4.84), the scrip ended its first month of trading about 20% up. Somocer, a tile manufacturer whose share price had almost doubled in August, fell back more than 25%, making it the period’s top loser. UIB, not one of the country’s top banks, was the period’s best performer, jumping up 18.02%.
Casablanca SE (1 month)
Current Year High: 14,925.99 Current Year Low: 12,230.58
The Casablanca Stock Exchange index closed at 13,092.11 points on Sep 19, which represented a 7.04% negative return when compared with the beginning of the month. However, the market rallied more than 750 points in the last two days of the review period, pushing back up after the shock selling caused by the world market contagion. Gainers, the strongest of which was beverages company Oulmes with an increase of 19.85%, were outnumbered three to one by losers over the review period. Real estate group Alliances Développement, which had debuted on the exchange in mid July, weakened the most, giving up 29.63% in just over half a month in September. With a price to earnings ratio of 22.85x, the CSE was at the upper end of the regional spectrum at the end of the review period.
Egypt CASE (1 month)
Current Year High: 11,935.67 Current Year Low: 7,071.16
The CASE 30 index closed at 7,071.16 points on Sep 18 with a loss of 16.31% since the start of September. After the local panic over capital gains taxation and cutting of subsidies, the correlation between the Egyptian exchange and global markets supplied further down pressure on the Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchanges in September to the point that the market closed the Sep 18 session 32.97% lower from the start of the year, making it at least unlikely that investors will have much to worry about capital gains tax until the end of 2008. Losers outnumbered gainers seven times in the review period; major real estate, industrial, consumer goods, financial services, telecommunications, and construction companies were represented in the about 10% of stocks that each lost more than a quarter of their market cap in September. Market cap leader Orascom Construction Industries fared comparatively well with an 8.16% drop; the company also reported some successes in new contracts for a mega project in Abu Dhabi.
