Progress and Scandals - Atlas ASE Market Brief Nov 21, 2002

Trading activity picked up nicely at the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) this week, as investors regained their confidence due to the current progress on the political front with regards to the situation in Iraq. All in all more than 7.7 million shares changed hands in deals worth JD10.75 million as the AMI and ASMI both climbed by more than 1%.

The banking sector received a jolt this week as the State Prosecutor General announced that an individual, who was heavily involved in a major banking scandal, was now in custody. Consequently, banks that were affected by the fraud case, which took place in February of this year, were halted from trading on Wednesday as the sudden surge of demand caused these stocks to post opening prices above their daily limit. Banks such as the Jordan Investment and Finance Bank (JIFB) and the Jordan Gulf Bank (JOGB) saw relatively heavy trading as they closed at JD0.95 and JD0.53, respectively. The Jordan National Bank (JONB) was still halted from trading by the time the market closed for the week.

Al Zarqa Educational and Investment (ZEIC) had more than 0.27 million of its shares change hands as the stock climbed 6% to JD2.08. On the other hand, Jordan Telecom (JTEL) experienced thin trading as it held on to its JD2.35 position.

As expected, companies such as International Tobacco (ITCC) and Jordan Steel (JOST), which are dependent on the Iraqi market, attracted plenty of attention, climbing to JD3.84 and JD1.89, respectively.

The Industrial Commercial and Agricultural Co. (ICAG), a firm that has been through some trouble lately, saw its stock rise 7% to JD0.88 as approximately 0.22 million of its shares traded. This all came about as the company released pertinent information with regards to its restructuring plan.