Market retreats due to Lebanon vote delay

 

The delay in the presidential vote forced the market to retreat. Shares listed on the Beirut Stock Exchange went drastically down .

 

Solidere Shares went down despite yesterday “s announcement about the $4 billion project in Egypt .

Solidere “A” shares closed at $ 23.50 and “B” shares at $ 23.50. “A” shares went down 6.33% and “B” shares 6.44%

 

Bank shares were mostly down too.

Banque Audi GDR went down 7.10% and closed at $ 73.85
BLOM bank GDR went down 5.08% to close at $ 92.35
Byblos Bank “listed shares” went down 9.20% and closed at $ 2.27
Byblos Bank “Priority” went down 9.05% and closed at $ 2.31
HOLCIM Liban a cement manufacturing company was down 0.28% and closed at $ 21.00

Market Capitalization for the shares traded on the exchange was down at $ 11,011 billion.

The Lebanese Pound ( Lira) was unchanged at USD/LBP :1507.5
Volume of trade today was 824,975 shares and Value $ 15,154,997

 

Presidential vote delayed

 

Lebanon”s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri issued a statement yesterday stating that the presidential election has been delayed to December 17.

 

This was the eighth delay in the presidential elections. The first date was Sept 25, 2007.

 

This particular delay was caused by disagreement between the country”s rival anti- and pro-Syrian camps on the mechanism of amending the constitution to allow the election of the consensus candidate, army chief General Michel Suleiman.

 

“When the army chief was announced as a presidential candidate, Solidere rose, but today because the deal looks obstructed, the market has reacted by falling,” Louis Karam, senior investment adviser with Arab Finance Corporation, said.

 

As if the vote delay was not enough bad news , yesterday Hezbollah supporters burned rubber tires to protest the power rationing by the Lebanese electricity Company ( EDL) in the Hezbollah-controlled suburb south of Lebanon’ s capital Beirut , police reported.