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Slow transactions prior to holding the GA meetings for the first two leading companies

2016-03-24

Weekly Trading Report [20-24/03/ [2016

The transactions in Palestine Stock Exchange PEX continued within its recorded levels for weeks without any attractive change in the general or individual performance. Amid the liquidity circulation that falls within the investors’ routine investment positions changing in the period that precede the general assembly meetings, Al-Quds Index maintained, this week, a narrow price range as a result of few price movements  for the leading stocks that affect it. On the other hand and despite the reinforcement of the investment feasibility in the PEX- with the expectations of the returns’ achievement with the increase in dividends’ proposals- , the calmness in the PEX may be justified with the decline in the general incentives which may charge some optimism for good liquidity activity. Regarding the investors’ behavior, it is mainly ruled by the variation in the financial expected return for the investment selected period, which in turn creates the price variation with its different levels in this period.

In waiting for new positives with the approaching end of Q1 2016 to start the anticipation for the quarterly financial data, the investors’ appetite is still open to grab investment positions’ opportunities. A category of speculators may prefer to sell when the dividends’ proposals are announced in order to reposition themselves after the distribution, while, other category may increase the purchasing orders with the increase in expectations regarding the dividends recommendations. This week, the number of companies that raised recommendations regarding the dividends’ distribution increased to 16 companies till this moment; four banks, three investment companies and one Service Company.  Whereby, the board of directors of the National Carton Industry NCI proposed distributing 8% cash dividends, to record dividends’ yield of 7.48%.

In the week’s activity, the stock of Bank of Palestine BOP topped the PEX by 65.59%, to increase by 0.35% and close at the level of $2.90. This comes prior to holding the ordinary and extraordinary general assembly meetings this Friday 25/03/2016 to approve distributing 16% ; 5.71% stocks dividends and 10.29% cash dividends , in addition to voting on the merger with Palestine Commercial Bank PCB and purchasing an additional share of 31% in the Arab Islamic Bank AIB. The stock of Palestine Telecommunications Company PALTEL secondly followed with transactions that constitute 14.25% from total trading value, to close at the level of JD5.57; slightly down by 0.18%. The general assembly will be holding a meeting on Monday 28/03/2016 to approve distributing 45% cash dividends.