Aspiring Action - Atlas Market Brief 15 Nov 2001

Yet another exciting week at the ASE. Initially, the market continued with its favorable trend as the AMI reached as high as 113.47, heavily influenced by early advances made by market heavy weight, Arab Bank (ARBK). Both local and foreign investors lined up to bid on ARBK on the heals of the recently announced third quarter results, in addition to hopes for a long awaited bonus issue by the bank - which pushed its price to a high of JD224.70. Towards the end of the week, a round of institutional sell orders was sufficiently met by the pent up demand and managed to support its price at JD218 - which brought the AMI down to 112.26, around 3% higher for the week.

The same wave of enthusiasm also kept industrials up in the air. Pharmaceutical twins Dar Al Dawa for Development and Investment (DADI) and Arab Pharmaceuticals Manufacturing (APHA) made healthy gains and closed higher 11% and 12%, respectively. So did the Advanced Pharmaceutical Industries (ADPH), Arab Center for Pharmaceuticals (APHC) and Al-Razi Pharmaceutical Industries (RAZI), all of which were among the week's biggest advancers.

International Tobacco and Cigarettes (ITCC), which suffered a pounding recently after one of its major shareholders closed out some positions, recovered by some 10% to reach JD3.47. Moreover, Jordan Steel (JOST), the kingdom's largest steel producer, also rose some 5% to close at JD1.71 after it revealed that it had managed to expand its exports to Iraq by a further 21%.

Ultimately, the general mood in the market was positive, assisted by strong local and foreign institutional demand. Total value traded stood at JD28 million with as many as 13 million shares changing hands. This week, in line with overall sentiment, the number of advancers outnumbered decliners by an amazing 13 to 3. At the same time, the market is expected to make its predictable year-end hike as many of the local fund managers evaluate their year-end positions to enhance their year long profits.