On the floor, 51 brokers are licensed to buy and sell stocks for investors. They charge 1 percent of the stock price as a transaction fee. Foreigners aren't allowed to trade, Azzami says.
Between 250 million and 300 million dinars change hands each session here, or between US$120,000 and US$143,000, says Azzami. That much money moves in less than a second on the New York Stock Exchange.
Young investor
"I can phone my orders in directly but I like coming down here to have a proper feel of the market," says Omar Rayak Ali, 23, who says he's the stock exchange's youngest investor. Because newspapers don't carry stock prices, coming to the exchange is the only way of getting an overview.
Ali recently made a gain of 75,000 dinars, or US$38, when he sold all his shares in the General Electric Co, the state-run manufacturer of Iraqi phones and television sets. He also sold most of his shares in a bicycle maker to buy pharmaceutical stocks.
An economics student at Baghdad University with an impeccable hair cut and a finely trimmed beard, Ali says he likes to come in fast and leave fast. He currently has 1.8 million dinars, or US$900, tied up in stocks.
Gaseous Water produces a popular brand of bottled mineral water, an important commodity in a country where tap water isn't always dependable though the stock has had trouble finding buyers in recent sessions. The worst performer is Al Tilal Agricultural Products, a food company. Investors can pick up 1,000 of its shares for 300 dinars.
The stock market has gained 50 percent since October, says Mahmoud, a full-time stock-picker who comes here at each session. He points out the rise came after a 200 percent decline over the past two years.
"We're breathing a little bit better these days," says Mahmoud.
Ahmad, the retired civil servant, said he bought hotel stocks in the 1990s. The embargo on Iraqi trade brought tourism grinding to a halt and the shares didn't perform. He sold his holdings in two hotel stocks in 1998. Since then, sanctions have been eased under a UN program allowing Iraq to sell oil to import medicine, food and other products, and shares in hotels such as the Babel, have rebounded.
"I could have made a great profit if I'd kept them," Ahmad said with a chuckle.
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