ISX caps week with slight 0.05% down

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The Iraqi Stock Exchange (ISX) index declined slightly by 0.05% to close at 128.2 points at the end of this week’s trading sessions Thursday as rates of shares of 19 out of a total 52 traded firms retreated with a volume of trading that hit 2.9 billion Iraq dinars (roughly $2.5 million). More than 1.356 billion shares worth 2.960 billion Iraqi dinars exchanged hands today through 681 deals with rates of shares of 14 firms going into the green, 19 into the red and 19 retaining their previous levels, according to an ISX news bulletin received by IraqiNews.com news agency. Non-Iraqi investors obtained 168 purchase deals exceeding a value of 1.373 billion dinars, mostly over the banking, industrial, service and hotel sectors (46%), and 25 sale deals worth 113 million dinars over the banking, service and industrial sectors. The banking sector took the lead with 59% of the overall trading activities through 328 deals worth 1.760 billion dinars over 15 firms, followed by the industrial sector with 20% through 140 deals worth 614 million dinars over 13 firms and the service sector with 15% through 134 deals worth 468 million dinars over eight firms. Trading activities were poor 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) 482