All Aboard

In line with the exuberance shown throughout the past few weeks, this week was no exception. With close to 10 million shares traded, the AMI ended the week slightly upwards. Healthy trading activity pushed value traded to the range of JD17 million as investors lined up to ride the shooting stocks. The index made slight losses in the middle of the week as some investors cashed in on their earlier gains, only to pick up once again towards the end of the week.

Bloc deals also appeared on the market, particularly in banks with some 13,000 Arab Bank (ARBK) shares being acquired by a local institutional investor, 250,000 Jordan Gulf Bank (JOGB) shares, and 1.35 million Export and Finance Bank (EXFB) shares. Bank of Jordan (BOJX) was the week's biggest climber as its most recent semi annual results showed a 110% increase in earnings.

Pharmaceuticals made the healthiest gains with the Arab Center for Pharmaceuticals and Chemicals (APHC) leading the way as it jumped 14%, followed by Dar Al Dawa for Development & Investment (DADI) with 11% and the Arab Pharmaceutical Manufacturing (APHA) making a mere 8% gain for the week.

Industrial Commercial & Agricultural (ICAG) was also among the biggest advancers as expectations for promising semi annual results mounted, while Jordan Cement Factories (JOCM) shrugged off earlier gains it made after it announced a 23% increase in sales as a direct result of a more rigorous attempt to open untapped export markets. Market favorite Jordan Steel (JOST) reached a new all-time high as it broke the JD1.40 barrier before the market closed on Thursday.

Meanwhile, semi annual reports have shown mixed results for companies listed on the exchange. Companies operating in travel and tourism were among the worst hit especially as the violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip deterred most foreigners from visiting the kingdom. Pharmaceuticals, on the other hand, have shown an overall improvement as some companies even reported double-digit increases in bottom line figures. Meanwhile, some conflicting results have also been reported for manufacturing companies.