All-share index shows a growth of 8.64 per cent
The Kingdom's bourse performed exceedingly well during the first half of the year as the Bahrain Stock Exchange index closed, up 8.6 per cent with a 20 per cent foreigners' stake in traded value. Bahrain's all-share index closed at 2,409.27 points at the end of last month, showing a growth of 8.64 per cent compared to the end last December.
The Esterad index closed at 2,566.24 points at the end of last month, marking a growth of 11.70 per cent against its closing last December. The Dow Jones index concluded at 204.83 points at the end of June, posting a growth of 8.71 per cent compared to its closing in December.
The total value of shares traded stood at BD133.03 million at the end of last month, decreasing by 38.43 per cent compared with the value of shares traded in the first half of last year. The total volume of shares traded also slipped to 224.36 million shares, accounting for 32.45 per cent of total volume of shares traded.
The number of transactions executed during the first half of the year reached 10,968, reporting a decrease of 7.26 per cent compared to transactions handled during the corresponding period last year.
The market capitalisation of Bahraini shareholding companies listed grew by 7.79 per cent, from BD7.96 billion at the end of last December to BD8.58 billion at the end of last month.
The investment sector led other sectors in terms of market capitalisation as it amounted to BD3.88 billion, capturing 45.14 per cent of total market capitalisation followed by the commercial-bank sector with BD3.01 billion, representing 35.03 per cent of the total market capitalisation. The service sector, with a market capitalisation of BD1.39 billion, constituted 16.13 per cent of the total market capitalisation of companies listed on the exchange.
During the first half of this year, the investment sector topped out with a total value of BD56.50 million, representing 42.45 per cent of the total value of shares traded during the period. The volume of shares traded in the investment sector was 96.81 million, meaning 43.15 per cent of the volume of shares traded.
The commercial banking sector came second in terms of the value of shares traded with a value of BD45.10 million, amounting to 33.91 per cent of the total value of shares traded. The volume of shares traded in the commercial-bank segment during the same period was 80.40 million shares, capturing 35.84 per cent of the total volume.
The service sector, with a value of BD13.29 million shares traded, accounted for 10 per cent of the total value of shares traded. The volume of shares traded in the sector was 24.91 million shares, coming to 11.11 per cent of the total volume of shares.
Gulf Finance House ranked first in terms of the value of shares traded with BD26.18 million, adding up to 19.69 per cent of the total value of shares traded. Ahli United Bank came second with a value of BD24.45 million, representing 18.38 per cent of the total value of shares traded.
Al Salam Bank, with a value of BD8.22 million, translated to 6.19 per cent of the total value of shares traded. Statistics show that Bahraini investors were the most active in terms of the value of shares traded during the first half of this year, attaining BD128.75 million and amounting to 48.39 per cent of market share. GCC Investors came second during the same period with BD83.27 million for which they accounted for 31.30 per cent of the total value of shares traded, followed by other non-GCC investors, comprising 20.30 per cent of the total value of shares traded with BD54.03 million.
By Mehmood Rafique Business Correspondent
© Bahrain Tribune 2007
