Jordan Times
Sunday, July 23, 2006
Weekly Analysis: Amman Stock Exchange
AMMAN — The Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) index
declined at the beginning of last week due to the escalation of violence in the
region. Though several companies started to report better than expected results
for the first half of this year, the index finished the week at 5788.90 points
down by 2.72 per cent.
The market capitalisation stood at JD21.6 billion.
The obligatory reserves at the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) reached JD669.8
million on the 16th of this month. The excess reserves, including those
deposited overnight by banks, amounted to JD178.7 million.
The director of the Jordanian Commercial Centre in Dubai stated that the United
Arab Emirates (UAE) investments in Jordan have reached around JD600 million. He
indicated that Jordanian exports to the UAE have increased by more than 80 per
cent since 2002.
At the Amman Bourse, the average daily trading volume fell by 29.3 per cent last
week to JD32.045 million. Overall, decliners outnumbered advancers as 101
companies out of 159 declined, while 48 advanced.
The Arab Bank Group posted $336.4 million net profit during the first half of
2006, up by 39 per cent from the $241.8 million that was achieved during the
same period of 2005. Arab Bank branches in Jordan recorded a 42.4 per cent
increase in profits to JD46.6 million. The share price of the bank closed at
JD22.96, down by 3.93 per cent.
The preliminary results of the Housing Bank for Trade & Finance showed a pretax
profit of around JD63 million compared to JD52.1 million during the same period
of last year. The bank’s share price that sustained its levels during the past
period closed at JD9.00, down by 1.42 per cent.
Jordan International Insurance (JII) announced JD3.1 net profit during the first
half of 2006, up by 63 per cent when compared to the JD1.9 million that was
recorded during the same period in 2005. JII’s share price finished the week at
JD1.79, down by 3.24 per cent.
Arab Orient Insurance (AOI) revealed JD940,000 in operational income during the
first half of 2006, a growth of 20 per cent over the same period of 2005. AOI’s
shares were last traded on June 21, 2006 at a price of JD4.57.
First-half results of United Financial Investments (UFI) were lower by 67 per
cent year-on-year. The net operational income stood at around JD870,000 compared
to around JD2.6 million in mid-2005. UFI’s share price closed at JD4.30, up by
6.44 per cent.
Preliminary semiannual results of Jordan Investment Trust (JIT) showed a sharp
drop of 87.5 per cent in net income to around JD626,000. JIT’s share price
closed at JD3.08, down by 8.61per cent.
Meanwhile, the government has transferred 25 million shares or 10 per cent of
its ownership in Jordan Telecom to the Kuwaiti Company Al Nour for
Communications at JD4.66 per share. This transaction was executed outside the
bourse as neither parties wanted to execute it through any of the brokers.
The industrial index closed at 2357.1 points, up by 1.56 per cent for the week.
The share price of the Middle East Complex For Eng., Electronics (MECE) closed
at JD1.90, down by 6.86 per cent amid active trading that captured around 21 per
cent of the sector’s total trading volume.