Stock market sees slow yearly performance

BLOM index sheds 1.3 percent in one year

The Beirut Stock Exchange saw a slowdown during 2012 with the performance of most indicators dropping compared to 2011. Trading volume at the BSE closed the year at around 55 million shares, slipping by around 29 percent on an annual basis. The BSE’s turnover was $408 million, down from $515 million at end-2011.

The BLOM Stock Index (BSI) closed the year at 1160.3 points, down by 1.3 percent from end-2011. The Arab Monetary Fund (AMF)’s yearly price index for the BSE was $326.4 at end-2012, down by 1.5 percent on an annual basis. “The market’s performance is tied to the overall economic activity during the year,” said Saeb Zein, member of the BSE board.

Market capitalization rose to $10.4 billion from $10.28 billion at end-2011. Banking stocks continued to dominate the BSE, accounting for 74 percent of the market’s capitalization, followed by real estate stocks with 19 percent.

According to Zein, the profitability of the listed companies was affected by the local and the regional political situation: “Though companies still made profit this year, the growth in their profitability was weighed down by the economic situation which is, in turn, the result of the prevailing political conditions.”

The average daily traded volume for the year was around 230,990 shares for an average daily value of $1.7 million.

Earlier, the BSE’s vice-chairman, Ghaleb Mahmasani, had said that BSE authorities started taking measures to encourage local firms to list their stocks for public trading. He said the first step in the BSE’s privatization process would start as of September 2013. Zein said the stock market privatization could be delayed: “The stock market enhancement, like everything else, is locked due to the political situation.”