Local View - Atlas ASE Market Brief Jan 19, 2003

The fervor of last week might have died down a bit but investors at the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) still seem unfazed by political news, which hampered their activity in 2002, and are now trading quite enthusiastically. All in all, around 11 million shares, worth JD17.3 million changed hands as both the AMI and ASMI climbed by more than 2%.

The banking sector was very active this week, with the Arab Bank (ARBK) surpassing the JD190 mark. The Export and Finance Bank (EXFB) and the Industrial Development Bank gained good ground, advancing by 4% and 7% respectively. EXFB closed at JD1.48 as 0.2 million shares changed hands while INDV has almost 0.4 million of its shares trade as it ended the week at JD1.10.

Jordan International Insurance (JIJC) has been grabbing investor's attention lately, giving the insurance sector the boost it has been lacking. JIJC climbed 8% to JD1.13. The sector is in the midst of reinventing itself, presenting customers with more affordable services, which is leading some companies to consider consolidation. Expectations are that at least one merger will take place in the sector during the first quarter of 2003.

The major bloc deal of the week involved 0.625 million of Jordan Petroleum Refinery (JOPT)'s shares. The stock rose 2% to JD12.83 ahead of board of directors elections at the end of month.

Pharmaceutical stocks cooled down as Arab Pharmaceutical Manufacturing (APHA) and Dar Al Dawa (DADI) announced that merger talks have been postponed as both companies continued with their due diligence. DADI closed up 5%, while APHA ended the week at JD4.14.

Jordan Cement (JOCM) and Jordan Steel (JOST) stepped to the forefront as the cabinet decided to exempt steel and cement used in ready-made buildings for investment purposes from sales tax. JOCM advanced to JD3.28, while JOST saw almost 1.3 million shares change hands as it hiked 10% to JD2.11.