Beirut stocks soar: Trading activity jumps sharply in October

Trading on the Beirut Stock Exchange (BSE) recorded a significant upswing in the tenth month of 2025. The total number of exchanged shares rose by 116.02% month-on-month, reaching 4,030,646 shares, compared to 2,131,108 shares in September.

Similarly, the value of traded shares climbed by 89.48% to USD 55.02 million, up from approximately USD 29.04 million in the previous month.

The banking sector led market activity, accounting for 92.06% of total traded shares, followed by real estate (7.64%) and industry and trade (0.31%).

Despite the stronger trading performance, market capitalization slipped by 1.57% in October to USD 20.60 billion, representing a year-on-year decline of 6.53% from USD 22.04 billion in October 2024. The drop was largely driven by the decline in Solidere A (-7.64%) and Solidere B (-7%) share prices, which offset gains recorded by Blom Bank and Bank Audi.

Over the first ten months of 2025, 18.83 million shares were traded, marking a 104.28% year-on-year increase. However, the total value of traded shares declined by 33.98%, registering USD 276.44 million during the same period.

The price-to-book value (P/BV) ratio eased to 6.135 at end-October, compared with 6.787 in September and 7.474 in October 2024. By month-end, Solidere A closed at USD 78.55 and Solidere B at USD 79.

Overall, the market’s trading momentum strengthened noticeably, with the ratio of traded to listed shares reaching 0.23% in October and 0.96% cumulatively in 2025 signaling a clear revival in investor activity.