Baghdad (NINA)- Regional and international stock markets’ indicators have generally witnessed a sharp decline throughout the last few months, due to impacts of the recent international financial crisis.

This crisis has affected large number of major banks as well as insurance and mortgage firms and the crisis' practical and psychological effects are still reflected on businesses and investments allover the world.

However, several stock markets, including the Iraqi Stock Exchange ISX have kept away from that crisis’ effects due to their limited dealing on one side, and adopting the hand dealing without turning to electronic dealing system up to date which restricted non-Iraqi investors' deals, on the other side.

Given these facts, internal rather than external factors were more influential on the level and volume of Iraqi sector dealings which witnessed relative fluctuation, meanwhile the general index of ISX showed a tendency for stability or increase since last September due to the general improvement of security situations as well as absence of surprise events that used to govern political circumstances and relations among powerful parties on the Iraqi arena.

And despite the fact that banking sector was a pioneer in terms of its general indicators, especially number of traded shares, the hotel and tourism sector has witnessed a relative development throughout last October and November.

Economic analysts justify such increase to potentials of attracting more investments for this sector in various areas of the country, especially those of religious and ancient nature, in addition to preparations made by hotels to live up to the expected economic and investment activities in 2009.

The general ISX index increased continuously during the last third of the last November from 51.510 points on November 20 to 55.650 points on November 30, but it witnessed a slight decline with 0.831% when it closed on 55.187 points during last Tuesday’s session.

It is worth mentioning that ISX's administration board has decided that Tuesday's session of December 2nd to be the last session before Eid Adha holiday while the December 16th session to be the first after the holiday and that of December 23rd the last in 2008. /End/