Back to School

Investors greeted the seemingly promising results of a ministerial trade delegation that wrapped up in Baghdad earlier this week. Consequently, a local paper reported that annual exports to Iraq could peak to US$1 billion. Against this backdrop, volumes surged throughout the week especially on Wednesday, when the value traded surpassed JD5 million spurred by a number of bloc deals on selected stocks. As far as the overall market is concerned, value traded approached some JD18 million, while more than 12 million shares changed hands. For a change, the number of advancers and decliners were in line with each other, while only a handful of companies remained unchanged.

Banks have been missing out lately on the sharp volumes to which they have been accustomed with the exception of a few bouncing around here and there. The Arab Bank (ARBK), which captures around 40% of the total market capitalization, and the Export and Finance Bank (EXFB) were the most active among their peers and closed relatively unchanged.

United Arab Investors (UAIC), a local holding company, has started to trade more frequently lately; this week it captured some 5% of total trading activity. Arab International for Education and Investment (AIEI) and Zarka Education and Investment (ZEIC), which operate two popular private universities in the country, have become more active recently. This comes at a time when an increasing number of university level students are preparing to enroll, as the new academic year is just around the corner. Both companies closed slightly lower for the week.

International Tobacco and Cigarettes (ITCC), which has traded at an average of just under JD0.3 million over the past month, lit a spark for a huge flux of investors as they poured into it; the company captured more than 13% of the weekly trade. High volumes for Dar Al Dawa for Development and Investment (DADI) pushed its price to JD3.28 earlier this week, before sinking back to JD3.21, a 7% boost for the week.

Jordan Steel (JOST) also made significant advances this week, as it peaked to JD1.53 before dropping to JD1.51. Moreover, aluminum producers also made a shiny gain as both Arab Aluminum (AALU) and National Aluminum (NATA) closed around 4% higher.