Syria’s stock market witnessed very little change last week with trading volumes remaining very low and the market’s main index continuing its losing streak.

Syria’s stock market index has now fallen for 23 days in a row to close last week at 840.27 as the total value of shares traded stood at less than USD 30,000.

The European Union has added six new Syrian entities to its sanctions list including Syria International Islamic Bank, and SCOT, a state-owned oil trading company.

All stocks traded at the Damascus Securities Exchange fell again last week with the total value of shares falling more than 50 percent compared to the previous week.

The volume of trading slightly rose last week at the Syrian bourse although stock prices continued their decline.

Syrian stocks fell for the fifth week running with the Damascus Securities Exchange’s main index shedding 0.61 percent.

Trading in the Damascus Securities Exchange last week remained very low with investors continuing to flee the market.

The appointment of Nabil Hshaimeh as chief executive officer of Banque Bemo Saudi Fransi, Syria’s largest private sector conventional bank, has been confirmed by the Central Bank of Syria.

Syria International Islamic Bank, an institution with Qatari strategic shareholders and that saw its assets jump 85 percent in the last quarter alone, was added to a list of companies under sanctions by the US Treasury, leading to the resignation of all its Board members.

The week at the Damascus Securities Exchange was marked by the inclusion of Syria International Islamic Bank in a list of companies under sanctions by the United States and by a general decline in stock prices.

The Damascus Securities exchange main index, the DWX, closed at 872.23 on May 23, a weekly decline of 0.17 percent, with trade volumes slightly rising.

A new company is set to enter the Damascus Securities Exchange in spite of the fact that the market continues to attract only little investment.

Week after week trading remains very limited at the Syrian stock exchange with traders losing hope of receiving any time soon clear indications to where the country is heading.

Global One, a brokerage firm based in Aleppo, held the lead in the market for stock brokering in April, for the third month since the beginning of the year.

Syria’s stock market index declined 1.1 percent last week to close at 872.02 as trading remains subdued.