Breakaway

Most of the stocks at the ASE held steady this week with trading activity on the rise. The AMI closed up 2% at 108.63, while just over 10 million shares changed hands in deals worth around JD24 million. Monday's session captured some 30% of the total activity sparked by institutional selling in an effort to realize their year-long gains.

The much admired International Tobacco and Cigarettes (ITCC) suffered a pounding this week. The Bank of Jordan (BOJX), one of its major shareholders, closed major positions in ITCC and sent its price to a low of JD3.04 - with local investors following suit. Later on, however, ITCC managed to recover from its earlier losses and closed at JD3.15. In a similar fashion, BOJX also sold some of its holdings in Jordan Steel (JOST). Unlike ITCC, heavy demand supported JOST as it eventually climbed back to JD1.63, only 1% lower from its opening JD1.65.

Consequently, BOJX continued its strong rise as its year-end financial results seem increasingly promising on the heals of the recently realized one-off gains of ITCC and JOST. BOJX was among the week's highest advancers, gaining some 14% to close at JD2.60.

Perennial favorite Arab Bank (ARBK) also reaffirmed its position in the market as investors increased their holdings in ARBK, which pushed its price back above the JD210 level, closing at JD211.75. Other advancing banks include Export and Finance Bank (EXFB), which closed at JD1.62, or around 6% higher.

On the QIZ front, monthly exports from Al Hassan Industrial Zone in Irbid have declined. Total exports in October fell around 10% from the JD22 million worth of goods exported in September. However, when compared to October of last year, they show a healthy rise of nearly 67%.