To Strike or Not to Strike - Atlas Market Brief August 22, 2002

Investors treaded carefully on Sunday as they tried to sniff out the direction in which the market was heading. They were not disappointed at first as positive sentiment ensued over the Israeli Army's withdrawal from Bethlehem and the Gaza Strip. Nevertheless, renewed speculation regarding possible attacks on Iraq had the market reeling by the end of the week. Trading volumes were unsurprisingly low, with only 5.5 million shares changing hands in deals worth JD8.8 million.

The Arab Bank (ARBK), which touched the JD196 mark at some point, dropped back to its opening position of JD191.25. Similarly, the Export and Finance Bank (EXFB) had an easy ride, ending the week unaltered at JD1.60. The Jordan Kuwait Bank (JOKB), on the other hand, shed 4% at very low volumes.

The Bank of Jordan (BOJX) climbed to JD2.23 as it followed International Tobacco and Cigarette (ITCC), which was the most active stock of the week. ITCC rose 4.5% to JD4.18.

Pharmaceutical stocks had a good week seeing that they finally resorted to their defensive nature and mustered an increase in value. Arab Pharmaceutical Manufacturing (APHA) staggered to JD3.74, while Dar Al Dawa (DADI) and Advanced Pharmaceutical (ADPH) both rose 2% to close at JD5.00 and JD0.92, respectively.

Meanwhile, the Jordan Phosphate Mines (JOPH) redeemed part of its outstanding bonds, which expired on August 19th, using funds from the new JD40 million issue. Nevertheless, the stock remained relatively quiet, advancing by only 1% to JD1.85

Jordan Steel (JOST) had its fair share of activity, climbing 3.8% to JD1.92, as the government and contractors still pondered over the issue of tariffs imposed on imported steel bars.