ISX opens week with slight 0.16% up

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The Iraq Stock Exchange (ISX) opened this week Sunday with a slight upward trend of 0.16% in its overall index to close at 129.4 points as rates of shares of 20 out of a total 51 traded firms were a bit lucky in a trading session of 2.2 billion Iraqi dinars (roughly $1.8 million). “Some 1.080 billion shares worth 2.211 billion Iraqi dinars exchanged hands today (April 17) through 564 deals with rates of shares of 14 firms declined and 17 retaining their previous levels,” according to an ISX news bulletin received by IraqiNews.com news agency. Non-Iraqi investors obtained 169 purchase deals worth  one billion dinars, mostly over the banking, industrial and service sectors, about 48% of the overall trading activities, and 16 sale deals worth 101 million dinars over the industrial, hotel and agricultural sectors. The banking sector took the lead with 61% of the trading through 263 deals worth 1.364 billion over 14 firms, followed by the industrial sector with 19% through 212 deals worth 436 million dinars over 14 firms and the service sector with 13% through 110 deals worth 306 million dinars over six firms. Trading was modest over the hotel, agricultural, insurance and investment sectors. The ISX was incorporated and began operations in June 2004. It operates under the oversight of the Iraq Securities Commission, an independent commission modeled after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Before the 2003 invasion of Iraq, it was called the Baghdad Stock Exchange and was operated by the Iraqi Ministry of Finance. Now it is a self-regulated organization similar to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), owned by the 50 or so member brokerages. As of 2005, the ISX was Iraq‘s only stock exchange. It opened in 2004 with 15 companies, and now lists more than 100 companies. Turnover of shares in 2005 was approximately $5 million per trading session. The ISX now holds five sessions from Sunday to Thursday. AmR (TS) 367