Down the Aisle Again - Atlas ASE Market Brief Jan 09, 2003

It took news of a potential merger between two of the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE)'s major pharmaceutical companies to get things beating to the old active drum again. It has been quite a while now since the market saw more than 13 million shares change hands. All in all the JD21.6 million trading volume caused the AMI and ASMI to advance to 125.10 and 160.40, respectively.

Dar Al Dawa (DADI) and Arab Pharmaceutical Manufacturing (APHA) are currently in talks that might see the creation of the largest local pharmaceutical company in terms of paid-up capital. The merged entity is expected to have a market cap of JD182.5 million split up among 50 million shares. Needless to say, this sent both stocks into a rally, both surpassing limits they have not seen in a very long time. DADI reached JD6.06 before it settled at JD5.73 with 0.72 million shares traded, while APHA hit JD4.40 ahead of closing at JD4.11. DADI and APHA have had on and off merger talks before.

The rest of the pharmaceutical sector followed suite, with both Advanced Pharmaceuticals (ADPH) and Middle East Pharmaceuticals (MPHA) climbing 12% as the latter had 1.5 million of its shares change hands.

Conversely, the banking sector was of little mobility, albeit for a bloc deal involving more than 1.7 million of the Export and Finance Bank (EXFB)'s shares. The Bank of Jordan (BOJX) rose by 4% to JD2.25 while the Housing Bank for Trade and Finance (THBK) was satisfied with a 2% increase to JD2.50. Meanwhile, the Jordan Securities Commission (JSC) has extended the deadline for the Jordan National Bank (JONB)'s capital increase subscription to January 21st, 2003.

Other interesting movements were seen in stocks from various sectors that are not usually in the spotlight. Middle East Complex for Eng. and Electronics (MECE) had a few bloc deals cross its path as it closed at JD0.63, while Specialized Investment Compounds (SPIC) saw an 11% hike to JD0.78 as almost 0.5 million of its shares changed hands. National Cable and Wire (WIRE) also caused a stir as the 0.72 million shares traded helped it shoot up 18% to JD0.78.