Investing in Results

The Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) was swooshed off the ground this week, giving itself a little relaxing break halfway through, as strong trading kept most market participants well occupied. All in all, 22 million shares, worth JD48 million, changed hands as most blue chips advanced.

This year's semi-annual results have shown a new trend, with many small and mid-cap companies exhibiting either extremely positive or negative growth in their incomes. As larger more mature companies posted flat results, many smaller companies, which have, over the past couple of years, gone through various restructuring schemes, finally bore the fruits of their labour as their profits soared. On the other hand, several companies have yet to step out of the red, which is why within our sample of mid-year results, the average growth in net income is around 15% while the median growth sits at 4%, thus explaining the disequilibrium.

The banking sector was dominated by two of its major players this week as both witnessed several bloc deals. The Arab Bank (ARBK) closed at JD235.5, up 2%, as 30,000 of its shares were later involved in a bloc trade, which took place after the session was over on Thursday. The Jordan Kuwait Bank (JOKB) was involved in a few similar transactions during the week, which totalled JD6.82 million.

The insurance sector also had its own bloc deal carried out. The 0.3 million Jerusalem Insurance (JERY) shares were exchanged at JD1.80.

Investment companies were the cause of most of the motion at the ASE. United Arab Investors (UAIC) and the Union Investment Corporation (UINV) both climbed more than 10% to close at JD2.94 and JD2.00, respectively. Specialized Investment Compounds (SPIC), on the other hand, contented with a 3% increase as more than 1.6 million of its shares traded.

Jordan Industrial Resources (JOIR) and the National Cable and Wire Manufacturing (WIRE) fascinated investors as the rest of the market took a short break midweek. JOIR rose 10% to JD0.89 while WIRE saw a similar climb of 9%, closing at JD1.08.